A Vicious Circle
by Darth Kieduss the Wise
Summary: Darth Vader betrayed and murdered Anakin Skywalker. Now, Luke Skywalker sets out to avenge his father's murder. Guided by Anakin's spirit, he faces many dangers along the way, including the dark side's temptation. Based on the original plot of Star Wars.
1. Your Father

**In the original draft written by Leigh Brackett, Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader were different persons, and indeed Vader killed Anakin after turning to the dark side. Also, Anakin was supposed to be a force ghost that would help Luke. But then Brackett died (ironically a year after her husband) in 1978 and someone else took over the script. Much of the first chapter is based on the novel.**

_A long time ago...Hey, if it's a long time ago, how do they have lasers...We don't have lasers. Wait, yes we do. Point withdrawn..._

"No. My father didn't fight in the wars. He was just a navigator on a spice freighter."

"That's what your uncle told you," Kenobi said, letting out a smile. "He didn't hold with your father's ideals, opinions, or with his philosophy of life. He believed that your father should have stayed here on Tatooine and not gotten involved. Well, he thought he should have remained here and minded his farming. Luke, you must not blame him. Owen was always afraid that your father's adventurous life might influence you, might pull you away from Anchorhead." He shook his head slowly, regretfully at the remembrance. "I'm afraid there wasn't much of the farmer in your father."

"You fought in the Clone War?" Luke asked.

"Yes," Kenobi acknowledged casually. "The war ended not long before you were born. I was once a Jedi Knight, the same as your father."

Luke said nothing, his body tense as the old man related bits and pieces of a personal history Luke had viewed only through his uncle's distortion. He turned away. He returned to cleaning the last particles of sand from Threepio's healing armature. Then he looked back at Kenobi. "I wish I'd known him," he finally whispered.

"He was the best star pilot in the galaxy," Kenobi went on, smiling, "and a cunning warrior. The Force...the instinct was strong in him." For a brief second Kenobi actually appeared old. "And he was a good friend."

Kenobi couldn't help but smile and remember those times. Good old times. Even when they acted like two schoolboys.

_"I haven't seen you this nervous since we fell into that nest of gundarks," Obi-Wan said._

_"You fell into that nightmare, Master," Anakin replied. "And I rescued you, remember?"_

_"Oh, yes," Obi-Wan chuckled, getting a smile from his Padawan._

_A few years later, Obi-Wan, Anakin and Kie Vader, who would later become the dreaded Darth Vader, had rescued the Supreme Chancellor and Obi-Wan and Kie insisted that the "Hero with No Fear" had his 'glorious day with the politicians'._

_"All right, but you two owe me one, and not just for saving your skins for the tenth time," Anakin relented._

_"_Ninth_ time," Vader reiterated._

_"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed. "That business on Cato Nemoidia doesn't, doesn't count."_

_Anakin smiled at them._

Suddenly the boyish twinkle returned to those piercing eyes along with the old man's natural humor. "I understand you're quite a pilot yourself. Piloting and navigation aren't hereditary, but a number of the things that can combine to make a good small-ship pilot are. Things you may have inherited. Still, even an infant has to be taught to walk. In many ways, you know, you are much like your father." Kenobi's unabashed look of evaluation made Luke nervous, but his praise made him blush a bit. "You've grown up quite a bit since the last time I saw you."

Having no reply for that, Luke waited silently as Kenobi sank back into deep contemplation. After a while the old man stirred, evidently having reached an important decision.

"All this reminds me," he declared with deceptive casualness, "I have something for you." He rose and walked over to a bulky, old-fashioned chest and started rummaging through it. All sorts of intriguing items were removed and shoved around, only to be placed back in the bin. A few of them Luke recognized. As Kenobi was obviously intent on something important, he forbore inquiring about any of the other tantalizing flotsam.

"You're father wanted you to have this when you were old enough," Kenobi continued, "...if I can find the blasted thing. I tried to give it to you once before, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. He believed you might get some crazy ideas from it and end up following old Obi-Wan on some damn fool idealistic crusade like your father did. You see, Luke, that's where your father and your uncle Owen disagreed. Lars is not a man to let idealism interfere with business, whereas your father didn't think the question even worth discussing. His decision on such matters came like his piloting-instinctively. He kind of just did things rather than scheme up a plan."

Luke nodded. He finished picking out the last of the grit and looked around for one remaining component to snap back into Threepio's open chest plate. Locating the restraining module, he opened the receiving latches in the machine and set about locking it back into place. Threepio watched the process and appeared to wince ever so perceptibly.

Luke stared into those metal and plastic photo-receptors for a long moment. Then he set the module pointedly on the work-bench and closed the droid up. Threepio said nothing.

A grunt came from behind them, and Luke turned to see a pleased Kenobi walking over. He handed Luke a small, innocuous-looking device, which the youth studied with interest.

It consisted primarily of a short, thick hand grip with a couple of small switches set in the grip. Above the small post was a circular metal disk barely larger in diameter than his spread palm. A number of unfamiliar, jewel like components were built into both handle and disk, including what looked like the smallest power cell Luke had ever seen. The reverse side of the disk was polished to a mirror brightness. But it was the power cell that puzzled Luke the most. Whatever the thing was, it required a great deal of energy, according to the rating form of the cell.

Despite the claim that it had belonged to his father, the gizmo looked newly manufactured. Kenobi had obviously kept it carefully. Only a number of minute scratches on the hand grip hinted at previous usage.

"Sir?" Threepio said.

"Huh?"

"If you'll not be needing me," Threepio declared, "I think I'll shut down for a bit."

"Sure, go ahead," Luke said absently, returning to his fascinated study of the...the...whatever-it-was. Behind him, Threepio became silent, the glow fading temporarily from his eyes. Luke noticed that Kenobi was watching him with interest. "What is it?" he finally asked, unable despite his best efforts to identify it.

"Your father's lightsaber," Kenobi told him, handing it to the young lad. "At one time they were widely used. Still are, in certain galactic quarters."

Luke examined the controls on the handle, then tentatively touched a brightly colored button up the nar mirrored pommel. Instantly the disk put forth a blue-white beam as thick around as his thumb. It was dense to the point of opacity and a little over a meter in length. It did not fade, but remained as brilliant and intense at its far end as it did next to the desk. Strangely, Luke felt no heat from it, though he was very careful not to touch it. He knew what a lightsaber could do from the stories he heard from pilots, though he had never seen one before. It could drill a hole right through the wall of Kenobi's house-or through a human being.

As Luke twisted the blade this way and that, careful not to hit anything or himself, Kenobi continued.

"This was the formal weapon of a Jedi Knight," Kenobi explained. "Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. More skill than simple sight was required for its use. An elegant weapon for the more civilized age. It was a symbol as well. Anyone can use a blaster or fusion cutter-but to use a lightsaber well was a mark of someone a cut above the ordinary.

"For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the most powerful, most respected force in the galaxy. They served as the guardians and guarantors of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times...Before the empire..."

When Luke failed to ask what had happened to them since, Kenobi looked up to see that the youth was staring vacantly into space, having absorbed little if any of the oldster's instruction. Some men would have chided Luke for not paying attention. Not Kenobi. More sensitive than most, he waited patiently until the silence weighed strong enough on Luke for him to resume speaking. Turning off the lightsaber, he took a seat next to Kenobi.

"How," he asked slowly, "did my father die?"

Kenobi hesitated, and Luke sensed that the old man had no wish to talk about this particular matter. Anakin Skywalker was like a brother to him. A brother who had died in his arms on Coruscant all those years ago. Not really something someone would want to talk about. But unlike Owen Lars, however, Kenobi was unable to take refuge in a comfortable lie.

_Tell him,_ a voice told Kenobi. _He must know._

"A young Jedi named Darth Vader," Kenobi declared solemnly, "who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights...One of my disciples...and one of my greatest failures...He betrayed and _murdered _your father."

Even as Luke was taking this information with shock and horror, Kenobi couldn't help but remember...

_"I have failed you, Kie," Kenobi sadly admitted all those years ago. "I have failed you."_

_"I should have known the Jedi were plotting to take over!" Vader ranted, approaching his former Master._

_"Kie, Chancellor Palpatine is evil!" Kenobi screamed._

_"From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!" Vader retorted._

_"Well, then you are lost!"_

"Vader used the training I gave him and the Force within him for evil, to help the corrupt emperor. With the Jedi Knights disbanded, disorganized, or dead, there were few to oppose Vader. Today they are all but extinct."

An indecipherable expression crossed Kenobi's face. "In many ways they were too good, too trusting for their own health. They put too much trust in the stability of the Republic, failing to realize that while the body might be sound, the head was growing diseased and feeble, leaving it open to manipulation by people such as its own Supreme Chancellor, who would eventually declare himself the Emperor he is to this day.

"I wish I knew what Vader was after. Sometimes I have the feeling he is marking time in preparation for some incomprehensible abomination. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force."

Luke's face twisted in confusion. "The Force?"

Kenobi nodded, happy to change the subject. "I forget sometimes in whose presence I babble. The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. Let us say simply that the Force is something a Jedi must deal with. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together."

Kenobi came over toward Artoo Detoo. The old man fiddled with its metal insides for a split second. "Now let's see if we can figure out what you are, my little friend, and where you came from."

"I saw part of the message," Luke began, "and I..."

The striking portrait of a young beautiful woman in white robes was projected into empty space from the front of the little droid. Luke broke off, enraptured by its enigmatic beauty once again.

"Yes, I seem to have found it," Kenobi murmured contemplatively.

The image continued to flicker, indicating a tape hastily prepared. But it was much sharper, better defined now, Luke noted with admiration. One thing was apparent: Kenobi was skilled in subjects more specific than desert scavenging.

"General Kenobi," the mellifluous voice was saying, "Years ago, you served my father in the Clone War. Now be begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person. But my ship has fallen under attack, and I'm afraid my mission to bring you Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope."

A small cloud of tridimensional static replaced the delicate portrait, then it vanished entirely. Artoo Detoo gazed up expectantly at Kenobi.

Luke's mind was as muddy as a pond laced with petroleum by a man on a weekend drinking binge. Unanchored, his thoughts and eyes turned for stability to the quiet figure seated nearby.

The old man. The crazy wizard. The desert bum and all-around character whom his uncle and everyone else had known for a long as Luke could recall.

If the breathless, anxiety-ridden message the unknown woman had just spoken into the cool air of the hut had affected Kenobi in any way he gave no hint of it. Instead he leaned back against the wall and tugged thoughtfully at his beard.

"You must learn the ways of the Force, if you are to come with me to Alderaan."

"Alderaan!" Luke hopped off his seat, looking dazed. "I'm not going to Alderaan. I don't even know where Alderaan is." Vaporators, droids, harvest-abruptly the surroundings seemed to close in on him, the formerly intriguing furnishings and alien artifacts now just a mite frightening. He looked around wildly, trying to avoid the piercing gaze of Ben Kenobi...old Ben...crazy Ben...General Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"I've got to get back home," he found himself muttering thickly. "It's late. I'm in for it as it is."

"I need your help, Luke," Kenobi explained his manner a combination of sadness and steel. He nodded at Artoo Detoo. "She needs your help. I'm getting to old for this sort of thing."

"But...I can't get involved with anything like that," Luke protested. "I've got work to do; we've got crops to bring in-even though Uncle Owen could always break down and hire a little extra help. I mean, one, I guess. It's not that I like the Empire. I hate it. But there's nothing I can do about it. Not now. Besides, that's all such a long way from here. The whole thing is really none of my business."

"That's your uncle talking," Kenobi observed without rancor.

"Oh! My uncle, how am I ever going to explain this to him?"

The old man suppressed a smile, aware that Luke's destiny had already been determined for him. It had been ordained five minutes before he had learned about the manner of his father's death. It had been ordered before that when he had heard the complete message. It had been fixed in the nature of things when he had first viewed the pleading portrait of the beautiful Senator Organa awkwardly projected by the little droid. Kenobi shrugged inwardly. Likely it had been finalized even before the boy was born. Not that Ben believed in predestination, but he did believe in heredity-and in the Force.

"Learn about the Force, Luke. Remember, the suffering of one man is the suffering of all. Distances are irrelevant to injustice. If not stopped soon enough, evil eventually reaches out to engulf all men, whether they have opposed it or ignored it."

"I suppose," Luke confessed nervously. "I could take you as far as Anchorhead. You can get transport from there to Mos Eisley, or wherever it is you want to go."

"Very well," Kenobi agreed. "That will do for a beginning. But you must do what you feel is right, of course."

Luke turned away, now thoroughly confused. "Okay. Right now I don't feel too good about this..."

_He cannot hide from his destiny forever, Master,_ Anakin voice said.

_I know, old friend,_ Obi-Wan thought back_. I know._

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	2. I Have A Bad Feeling

_MILLENNIUM FALCON_

Skywalker, Kenobi and the droids had managed to gain transport to Alderaan, on the freighter _Millennium Falcon_, captained by Han Solo and his Wookiee friend Chewbacca. Luke was practicing his lightsaber skills with a remote orb. Chewbacca and R2-D2 were playing dejarik while C-3PO watched and gave Artoo advice. Solo was in the cockpit overseeing the navigation.

_Master,_ a familiar voice said to him, _Something terrible has happened._

Before Kenobi could respond, a tremendous pain shot through Kenobi's heart. As he had aged, he had developed some heart problems, but it was nothing like this. It felt like someone had used a knife with an explosive tip and thrusted it into his heart, twisted the blade and detonated the tip, blowing his heart into millions of pieces.

Kenobi leaned over to a wall, holding his heart tightly. Luke came over quickly as Kenobi sat down.

"Are you all right?" Luke asked. "What's wrong?"

"I just felt a great disturbance in the Force," Kenobi whispered. "As if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened...You'd better get on with your exercises."

Han Solo came in. "Well, you can forget your troubles with those Imperial slugs. They'll never be able to track us now. Told you I'd lose them."

Kenobi might have nodded briefly in response, but he was engaged in explaining something to Luke.

"Don't everybody thank me at once," Solo grunted, slightly miffed. "Anyway, navigation computer calculates our arrival in Alderaan orbit at oh-two-hundred. I'm afraid after this little adventure I'll have to forge a new registration."

"Now be careful, Artoo," Threepio told his friend, who responded with something that sounded like _Shut up. I got this, dude._

He made a move, taking out one of Chewbacca's players. An expression of puzzlement, then anger crossed the Wookiee's face as he studied the new configuration. Glaring up and over the table, he vented a stream of abusive growls on the inoffensive machine. Artoo could only beep in reply, but Threepio soon interceded on behalf of his less eloquent companion and began arguing with the hulking furry anthropoid.

"He made a fair move. Screaming about it won't help you."

"Let him have it," Solo said. "It's not wise to upset a Wookiee."

"But, sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid."

"That's 'cause a droid don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookiees are known to do that."

Chewbacca put his arms behind his head, smiling at Solo's warning and grunting in acknowledgement.

"I see your point, sir," Threepio said. "I suggest a new strategy, Artoo. Let the Wookiee win."

Artoo beeped as if he was saying, _Are you kriffing serious?_

Luke stood frozen in the middle of the hold of the ship. He held his father's lightsaber in position over his head. A low hum came from the ancient instrument while Luke lunged and parried under Ben Kenobi's instructive gaze. As Solo glanced from time to time at Luke's awkward movements, his lean features were sprinkled with smugness.

"No, Luke, your cuts should flow, not be so choppy," Kenobi instructed gently. "Remember, the Force is omnipresent. It envelops you as it radiates from you. A Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him."

"You mean it controls your actions?"

"Partially, but it also obeys your commands."

Luke readied himself as the orb circled him slowly, turning to face it as it assumed a new position. Abruptly it executed a lightning-swift lunge, only to freeze about a meter away. Luke failed to succumb to the feint, and the orb soon backed off.

Moving slowly to one side in an effort to get around the orb's fore sensors, Luke drew the saber back preparatory to striking. As he did so the ball darted in behind _him._ A thin pencil of red light jumped from one of the holes in the orb to the back of Luke's thigh, knocking him to the deck even as he was bringing his saber around-too late.

Rubbing at his tingling, sleeping leg, Luke tried to ignore the burst of accusing laughter from Solo. "Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side," the Corellian smuggler sneered.

"You don't believe in the Force, do you?" Luke asked, struggling back to his feet and deactivating the lightsaber. The numbing effect of the beam wore off quickly.

"Kid, I've flown from one side of the galaxy to the other," the pilot boasted, "and I've seen a lot of strange things. Too many to believe there couldn't be something like this one all-powerful 'Force' controlling everything. Too many to think that there could be some such controlling one's actions. _I_ determine my destiny-not some half-mystical energy field." He gestured at Kenobi. "I wouldn't follow him so blindly, if I were you. He's a clever old man full of simple tricks and mischief. He might be using you for his own ends."

Kenobi only smiled gently, then turned back to face Luke. "I suggest you try it again, Luke," he said soothingly. "You must try to separate your actions from conscious control. Try not to focus on anything concrete, visually or mentally. You must let your mind drift; only then can you use the Force. You have to enter a state in which you act on what you sense, not on what you think beforehand. You must see cogitation, relax, stop thinking. Let yourself drift free. Let go of your conscious self and act on instinct."

Moving to one side, Kenobi took a large helmet from behind a locker and walked over to Luke. Placing the helmet over Luke's head effectively eliminated the boy's vision.

"But with the blast shield down, I can't even see," Luke muttered, turning around. "How am I supposed to fight?"

"Your eyes can deceive you," old Ben explained. "Don't trust them. Fight with the Force. You didn't really 'see' the seeker when it went for your legs the last time, and yet you parried its beams. Try to let that sensation flow within you again."

"I _can't_ do it," Luke moaned. "I'll get hit again."

"Not if you let yourself trust _you_," Kenobi insisted, none too convincingly for Luke. "This is the only way to be certain you're relying wholly on the Force."

Luke took a deep breath and activated the lightsaber. The orb arched toward him. Braking in mid fall, the orb plummeted stone like toward the deck. Luke swung the saber at it. While it was a commendable try, it wasn't nearly fast enough. Once again one of the ports glowed. This time the crimson needle hit Luke square on the seat of his pants. Though it wasn't an incapacitating blow, it felt like one; and Luke let out a yelp of pain as he spun, trying to strike his invisible tormentor.

"Relax! Trust your feelings!" old Ben urged him. "Be free. You're trying to use your eyes and ears. Stop predicting and use the rest of your mind."

Suddenly the youth stopped, wavering slightly. The seeker was still behind him. Changing direction again, it made another dive and fired.

Simultaneously the lightsaber jerked around, as accurate as it was awkward in its motion, to deflect the bolt. This time the ball didn't fall motionless to the deck. Instead it backed up three meters and remained there, hovering.

Aware that the drone of the seeker remote no longer assaulted his ears, a cautious Luke peeked out from under his helmet.

_He is a fast learner,_ Kenobi's invisible friend told him. _He gets that from his mother. I was the slow learner._

Kenobi smiled. _Oh, come on. You were a quick learner too._

"See? You can do it," Kenobi informed him with pleasure. "Once you start to trust your inner self there'll be no stopping you. I told you there was much of your father in you."

"I call it luck," Solo snorted as he concluded his examination of the readouts.

"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck."

"Look, good against remotes is one thing," the Corellian sniffed indifferently, "Good against a living menace is something else."

As he was speaking a small tell tale light on the far side of the hold had begun flashing. Chewbacca noticed it and called out to him. Rising from the game table, the Wookiee followed his partner toward the cockpit.

"You know," Luke murmured, "I did feel something. I could almost 'see' the remote."

"That's good," Kenobi said, his voice when he replied was solemn. "Luke, you've taken the first step into a larger world."

In the cockpit, Solo and Chewbacca had their attention locked on the most vital of the cockpit's instruments.

"Stand by, Chewie." Solo adjusted several manual compensators. "Cut in the sublight engines."

The Wookiee turned something on the console before him. At the same time Solo pulled back on a comparatively large lever. Abruptly the long streaks of Doppler-distorted starlight slowed to hyphen shapes, then finally to familiar bolts of fire. A gauge on the console registered zero.

Gigantic chunks of glowing stone appeared out of the nothingness, barely shunted aside by teh ship's deflectors. The strain caused the _Millennium Falcon _to begin shuddering violently.

"What the hell?" Solo muttered as he sat in the pilot's seat. Next to him, Chewbacca offered no comment of his own as he flipped off several controls and activated others. Only the fact that the cautious Solo always emerged from super light travel with his deflectors up-just in case any of many unfriendly folks might be waiting for him-had saved the freighter from instant destruction. "Ahh! We've come out of hyperspace straight into a meteor shower. Some kind of asteroid collision. It's not on any of the charts."

"What's going on?" Luke asked, fighting to keep his balance as he made his way into the cockpit.

"Our position's correct, except no Alderaan," Solo explained. He peered hard at several indicators.

"What do you mean? Where is it? That's crazy."

"Won't argue with you there, kid," the Corellian replied grimly. "But that's what I'm trying to tell you. It ain't there. It's been totally blown away."

"What?!" Luke exclaimed. "How?"

"Destroyed by the Empire," Kenobi said as a matter of fact. _This is what I felt. Anakin...what have they done?_

"No," Solo said, shaking his head slowly. In his own way, he was stunned by the enormity of what the old man was suggesting. He may have hated the Empire, but he would believe that a human agency had been responsible for the annihilation of an entire population, of a planet itself...much less have the ability to do so. "The entire Imperial star fleet couldn't destroy the whole planet. It would take 1,000 ships with more firepower that has ever existed."

Muffled alarms began humming loudly as a synchronous light flashed on the control console. Solo bent to the appropriate instrumentation.

"There's another ship coming in."

"Maybe they know what happened," Luke ventured hopefully.

Ben Kenobi's next words shattered more than that hope. "That's an Imperial fighter."

Chewbacca suddenly gave an angry bark. A huge flower of destruction blossomed outside the port, battering the freighter violently. A tiny, double-winged ball raced past the cockpit port.

"It followed us!" Luke shouted.

"No, it's a short range fighter," Kenobi said, studying the configuration of the tracking screen displayed.

"There aren't any Imperial bases around here," Han said. "Where did it come from?

"It sure is leaving in a big hurry," Luke noted, studying the tracker. "No matter where it's going, if it identifies us, we're in big trouble."

"Not if I can help it," Solo declared. "Chewie, jam its transmission. Lay in a pursuit course."

"It would be best to let it go," Kenobi ventured thoughtfully. "It's already too far out of range."

"Not for long," Solo replied grimly.

Several seconds followed, during which the cockpit was filled with a tense silence. All eyes were on the tracking screen and view port.

At first the Imperial fighter tried a complex evasive course, to no avail. The surprisingly maneuverable freighter hung tight on its tail, continuing to make up the distance between them. Seeing that he couldn't shake his pursuers, the fighter pilot had obviously opened up his tiny engine all the way.

Ahead, one of the multitude of stars was becoming steadily brighter. Kenobi frowned. They were moving fast, but not nearly as fast enough for any heavenly object to brighten so rapidly. Something here didn't make sense.

"A fighter that size couldn't get this deep into space on its own," Kenobi observed, narrowing his eyes at the small fighter.

"He must have gotten lost, been part of a convoy or something," Luke hypothesized.

Solo's comment was gleeful. "Well, he won't be around long enough to tell anyone about us. We'll be on top of him in a minute or two."

"Look at him. He's heading for that small moon," Luke said.

"I think I can get him before he gets there. He's almost in range."

They drew steadily nearer. Gradually craters and mountains on the moon-like object became visible. Yet there was something extremely odd about them. The craters were far too regular in outline, the mountains far too vertical, canyons and valleys impossibly straight and regularized. Nothing as capricious as volcanic action had formed those features.

_It's not a moon of any kind, _Kenobi's friend told him. _Master__, get out of there._

"That's no moon," Kenobi breathed softly but grimly. "It's a space station."

"It's too big to be a space station," Solo objected.

"I have a very bad feeling about this," Luke commented.

"Turn the ship around. Let's get out of here."

"Yeah, I think you're right, old man," Solo agreed. "Full reverse. Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power."

The Wookiee started adjusting controls, and the freighter seemed to slow, arcing around in a broad curve. The tiny fighter leaped instantly toward the monstrous station until it was swallowed up by its overpowering bulk.

Chewbacca chattered something to Solo as the ship shook and strained against unseen forces. Gauges began to whine in protest, and by ones and twos every instrument on the control console sequentially went berserk. Try as he might, Solo couldn't keep the surface of the gargantuan station from looming steadily larger.

"Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power!"

"Why are we still moving towards it!" Luke exclaimed.

"We're caught in a tractor beams. It's pulling us in!" Solo yelled.

"There's gotta be something you can do!"

Solo studied the overloaded sensor readouts and shook his head. "Nothing I can do about it, kid. I'm full power. I'm gonna have to shut down. They're not gonna get me without a fight."

The ship stopped shaking as they were pulled in.

"You can't win," Kenobi said. "But there are alternatives to fighting..."

_Where have I heard that before?_ Anakin's spirit told him with humor.

The true size of the battle station became apparent as the freighter was pulled closer and closer. Running around the station's equator was an artificial cluster of metal mountains, docking ports stretching beckoning fingers nearly two kilometers above the surface.

Now only a minuscule speck against the gray bulk of the station, the _Millennium Falcon _was sucked toward one of those steel pseudo pods and finally swallowed by it. A lake of metal closed off the entryway, and the freighter vanished as if it had never existed.

_I agree with Luke. I have a very bad feeling about this._

_Don't worry, Anakin, _Obi-Wan mentally replied. _Whatever happens, it is the will of the Force._

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	3. You Can't Win, Darth

DEATH STAR

Kenobi had avoided one patrol after another, slowly working his way back toward the docking bay holding the freighter. Just another two turns and he should be at the hanger. What he would do then would be determined by how inconspicuous his charges had been.

But something was troubling him, judging from the references he had overheard concerning a certain important prisoner, now escaped. That discovery had puzzled him, until he considered the restless natures of both Luke and Han Solo. Undoubtedly, they were involved in some fashion.

Kenobi sensed something directly ahead and slowed cautiously. It had a most familiar feel to it, a half-remembered mental odor he could not quite place.

Then the figure stepped out in front of him, blocking his entry to the hanger not five meters away. The outline and size of the figure completed the momentary puzzle. It was the maturity of the mind he had sensed that had temporarily confused him. His hand moved naturally to the hilt of his deactivated saber.

_"If you're not with me, then you're my enemy," Vader said nineteen years ago._

_"Only a Sith deals in absolutes," Kenobi ironically said, not realizing that also was in absolutes. He grabbed his lightsaber. "I shall do what I must."_

_"You will try," Vader replied. "My old friend."_

_The battle raged throughout a quarter of the planet, leading them to a lava river._

_"This is the end for you, my master," Vader said as they rode on droids through the river. "I wish it were otherwise."_

_"Yes, Vader, so do I."_

_Vader jumped and landed on the platform Kenobi was standing on. Vader landed just on the edge, and Kenobi swung at him. Vader struggled to maintain his balance, but regained his footing and blocked another blow and counter-attacked._

Igniting his saber, he assumed the pose of warrior-ready, a movement accomplished with the ease and elegance of a dancer. Rather roughly, Vader imitated the movement without thought.

"I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan," Darth Vader intoned solemnly, approaching with a lit red lightsaber. "We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner, now _I_ am the master."

"Only a master of evil, Darth," Kenobi replied. Executing a move of incredible swiftness for one so old and out of practice, Kenobi lunged at the massive shape. Vader blocked the slash with equal speed, riposting with a counter slash that Kenobi barely parried. Another parry and Kenobi countered again, using this opportunity to move around the towering Dark Lord of the Sith.

"You're powers are weak, old man," Vader noted emotionlessly.

"You can't win, Darth," Kenobi murmured with assurance of one to whom death is merely another sensation, like sleeping or making love. "If my blade finds its mark, you will cease to exist. But if you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

They continued to trade blows, with the old man now backing toward the hanger. Once, his saber and Vader's locked, the interaction of the two energy fields producing a violent sparking and flashing. A low buzzing sound rose from the straining power units as each saber sought to override the other.

"You should not have come back," Vader said after a pause in the fight.

They continued to brawl. Slash followed by a stab, block followed by a riposte, blow for blow. They were fast for an elderly Jedi and a cyborg in his 40s trapped in a suit.

In backing away, Kenobi drew the duel into the open, right in front of the entrance to the main hangar. Vader attacked once more and began to chivy Kenobi into a wall. Just as Vader was about to deliver a finishing strike, Kenobi unleashed a sudden flurry of attacks that forced a surprised Vader to pull back.

The fight attracted the attention of the stormtroopers guarding the _Falcon_. Every one of the guards moved in for a better view of the Olympian conflict.

"Now's our chance," Han Solo observed quietly, starting forward. "Go!"

All seven of the stormtroopers guarding the ship broke and rushed toward the combatants, going to the Dark Lord's aid. Threepio barely ducked aside as they ran past. Kenobi heard the approaching commotion and spared a glance back into the hanger. The squad of troopers bearing down on him was enough to show that he was trapped.

Vader took immediate advantage of the momentary distraction to bring his saber over and down. Kenobi somehow managed to deflect the sweeping blow, at once parrying and turning a complete circle.

"You still have your skill, but your power fades. Prepare to join the Force, Obi-Wan."

Kenobi gauged the shrinking distance between the oncoming troops and himself, then turned a pitying gaze on Vader. "This is a fight you cannot win, Darth. Your power has matured since I taught you, but I too have grown much since our parting."

"Your philosophies no longer confuse me, old man," Vader growled contemptuously.

"Ben?" a young voice called.

Kenobi looked to see his young ward Luke out in the bay, looking at him with awe and worry. Kenobi looked back at Vader and smiled.

_Obi-Wan, _Anakin's spirit called to him. _It's time._

Obi-Wan said nothing. He raised his lightsaber so the tip pointed straight up, deliberately lowering his guard. Whether he was surrendering, Vader would have none of it. This man had crippled him and left him for dead on Mustafar.

Once again he lunged forward, slashing horizontally with the saber. It struck home, cutting the old man cleanly in half. There was a brief flash as Kenobi's cloak fluttered to the deck in two neat sections.

But Obi-Wan Kenobi was not in it. Wary of some tricks, Vader poked at the empty cloak sections with his boot. There was no sign of the old man. He had vanished as though he had never existed.

The guards slowed their approach and joined Vader in examining the place where Kenobi had stood seconds before. Several of them muttered, and even the awesome presence of the Sith Lord couldn't keep a few of them from feeling a little afraid. One stormtrooper even handed another some credits. Desipte their admiration, and fear, of Vader, they still liked to make bets. They were men, after all.

"NO!" Luke cried. The stormtroopers turned and fired at him. Luke responded, firing wildly toward the troops. Solo cursed, but turned to fire in support of Luke.

The battle was intense. Stormtroopers fell yet more popped out. Luke's fury consumed him to where he aimlessly fired at Vader. They all missed but Vader blocked one bolt with his lightsaber. This man had destroyed the Republic had sworn to serve. Destroyed his Jedi brethren and betrayed his mentor. He had oppressed the galaxy. Now, he had killed Luke's father and now his mentor.

Solo had turned and started for the entrance to his ship, but he paused as he aw Luke still firing toward the guards.

"Come on!" he yelled.

"Luke, come on!" Leia yelled at him. "Come on! Luke, it's too late!"

"NO!" Luke screamed in rage.

"Blast the door, kid!" Han yelled.

Luke looked at the Corellian, then back at the firefight. He fired. The energy bolt struck the safety release on the tunnel blast door. The emergency hold broken, the heavy door fairly exploded downward. Both the guards and Vader leaped clear-the guards into the bay and Vader backward, to the opposite of the door.

A familiar voice ran in his ear.

_"Run, Luke, run!"_

Bewildered, Luke whirled and retreated into the freighter.

Luke swore to himself that Vader would pay for everything he did. His father's murder would not go unavenged.

**Review.**


	4. Yavin

Strapped in the cockpit of his T-65 X-wing starfighter, with his friend R2-D2 riding, Luke Skywalker took off with the rest of the squadron to attack the Death Star. Luke had never flown a single combat mission before. Never even flown in a starfighter. Sure, a T-16 sky hopper that had a blaster but that was an air speeder not a ship designed for warfare and combat.

People would say take baby steps. Well, for Luke, this was one hell of a jump.

Keeping in tight formation, they approached the Death Star. They spherical death machine grew bigger and bigger and they closed the distance.

"All wings report in."

"Red Ten, standing by."

"Red Seven, standing by."

"Red Three standing by."

"Red Six standing by."

"Red Nine standing by."

"Red Two standing by."

"Red Five standing by," Luke reported in, with Artoo chirping in excitement.

"Lock S-foils in attack position."

The double wings on the X-wing fighters split apart, like narrow seeds. Each fighter now displayed four wings, its wing-mounted armament and quadruple engines now deployed for maximum firepower and maneuverability.

Ahead, the Imperial battle station continued to grow, Surface features became visible as each point recognized docking bays, broadcast antennae, and other man-made mountains and canyons.

As he neared that threatening black sphere for the second time, something began to buffet his ship, almost as if he were back in his sky hopper again, wrestling with the unpredictable winds of Tatooine.

"We're passing through their magnetic field," Red Leader sounded. "Hold tight. Lock down freeze-floating controls and switch your defectors on double front."

The shaking and buffeting continued, worsened. Not knowing how to compensate, Luke remained in control and followed orders, just as he should have. Then the turbulence was gone and the deathly cold peacefulness of space had returned.

"Look at the size of that thing!" Wedge Antilles gasped over his open pickup.

"Cut the chatter, Red Two," Red Leader ordered. "Accelerate to attack speed."

Grim determination showed in Luke's expression as he flipped several switches above his head and began adjusting his computer target readout. Artoo reexamined the nearing station and thought untranslatable electronic thoughts.

"This is it, boys."

"Red Leader, this is Gold Leader."

"I copy, Gold Leader."

"We're starting for the target shaft now."

"We're in position. I'm gonna cut across the axis and try to draw their fire."

At that moment, the attack began.

From the approaching swarm, two squads of fighters broke clear. The X-wing fighters dove directly for the bulge of the station, far below, while the Y-wing bombers curved down and northward its surface.

Within the station, alarm sirens began a mournful, clangorous wail as slow-to-react personnel realized that the impregnable fortress was actually under organized attack. Imperial soldiers scrambled to man enormous defensive-weapons emplacements. Servodrivers thrummed as powerful motors aligned the huge devices for firing. Soon a web of annihilation began to envelop the station as energy weapons, electrical bolts, and explosive solids ripped out at the oncoming rebel craft.

"Heavy fire, boss. 23 degrees."

"I see it. Stay low!"

"This is Red Five," Luke announced to his mike as he nose dived his ship in a radical attempt to confuse any electronic predictors below. The gray surface of the battle station streaked past his ports. "I'm going in."

The target in Luke's sights was as stable as that of the Imperial deflectors were evasive. Bolts flew from the tiny vessel's weapons. One started a huge fire on the dim surface below, which would burn until the crew of the station could shut off the flow of air to the damaged section.

Luke's glee turned to terror as he realized he couldn't swerve his craft in time to avoid passing through the fireball of unknown composition.

"Luke, pull out!" Biggs was screaming at him.

But despite commands to shift course, the automatic pressers wouldn't allow the necessary centrifugal force. His fighter plunged into the expanding ball of super heated gases.

Then he was through and clear, on the other side. A rapid check of his controls enabled him to relax. Passage through the intense heat had been insufficient to damage anything vital-though all four wings bore streaks of black, carbonized testimony to the nearness of his escape.

Hell-flowers bloomed outside his ship as he swung it up and around in a sharp curve. "Luke, are you all right?" Bigg's concerned query sounded.

"I got a little cocked, but I'm okay."

DEATH STAR

Inside, troopers, mechanicals, and equipment were blown in all directions by subsidiary explosions as the effects of the blasts traveled back down various conduits and cables. Where the explosions had hulled the station, escaping atmosphere sucked helpless soldiers and droids into a bottomless black tomb.

Moving from position to position, a figure of dark calm amid the chaos, was Darth Vader, strolling. A harried Commander rushed up to him and reported breathlessly.

"We count thirty Rebel ships, Lord Vader, of two types. But they're so small they're evading our turbolasers."

"We'll have to destroy them from ship to ship," Vader said. "Get the crews to their fighters."

Within numerous hangers red lights began flashing and an insistent alarm started to ring. Ground crews worked frantically to ready ships as flight-suited Imperial pilots grabbed for helmets and packs.

SPACE

"Watch yourself," Red Leader urged over the cockpit speaker. "There's a lot of fire coming from the right side of that deflection tower."

"I'm on it," Luke responded confidently. Putting his fighter into a twisting dive, he sliced once more across the metal horizons. Antennae and small protruding emplacements burst into transitory flame as bolts from his wing tips struck with deadly accuracy.

"I'm going in," Biggs announced. "Cover me, Porkins."

"I'm right with you, Red Three."

The three X-wings attacked. The tower exploded in flames.

"I'm having a problem here," Porkins reported. His X-wing shook as green lasers pounded against his deflector shields.

"Eject," Biggs told him.

"I can hold it."

"Pull up!"

"No, I'm all right-Aaaaghh!" he screamed as his shields failed and Porkin's X-wings exploded in ball of flame. Biggs winced and closed his eyes in mourning.

_"Squad leaders, we've picked up a new group of signals. Enemy fighters coming your way."_

"My scope's negative," Luke protested. "I don't see anything."

"Pick up your visual scanning," Red Leader said. "Here they come."

TIE/LN starfighters, all with two Sienar Fleet Systems L-s1 laser cannons, were coming at them from three o'clock high.

"Watch it!" Red Leader called. "You've got one on your tail!"

John D. Branon looked left and right over his shoulder, desperately searching for his pursuer. With a little adjusting, the TIE pilot fired again and hit home.

"I'm hit!"

That was all he had to scream before oblivion to took him from behind. Far above and to one side Red Leader saw Branon's ship expand in a fiery ball of flames.

Luke turned again, and this time saw an Imperial already pursuing an X-wing...an X-wing with a number Luke quickly recognized.

"Biggs, you've pick one up!" Luke shouted. "Watch it!"

"I can't see it!" his friend's panicked response sounded.

Luke watched helplessly as Biggs' ship shot away from the station surface and out into clear space, closely followed by the Imperial TIE. The enemy vessel fired steadily at him, each successive bolt seeming to pass a little closer to Biggs's hull. Biggs turned left, then right, then left again.

"He's on me tight," Biggs called. "I can't shake him!"

Twisting, spinning, Biggs looped back toward the battle station, but the pilot trailing him was persistent and showed no sign of relinquishing pursuit. The Imperial had dug its teeth onto Biggs and wouldn't let go.

"Hang on, Biggs," Luke called, wrenching his ship around so steeply that the straining gyros whined. "I'm coming, I'll be right there."

The Imperial pilot was so absorbed in his pursuit of Biggs that he didn't see Luke, who rotated his own ship, flipped out of the concealing gray below and dropped in behind him.

Luke licked his lips as electronic cross hairs lined up according to the computer-readout instructions. Luke fired when he got a lock. There was a small explosion in space; tiny compared with the enormous energies being put out by the turret emplacements on the surface of the battle station.

DEATH STAR

As the battle station alarm blared loudly throughout the station, Darth Vader pulled up to two Imperial pilots.

"Several fighters have broken off from the main group," the Dark Lord told the two. "Come with me."

The two pilots obeyed and walked in the shadow of the Supreme Commander into a hanger.

SPACE

An Imperial pilot noticed Skywalker was on his tail. The TIE jinked and swirved but the Rebel was on him tight. A short burst marked Luke's second kill.

Luke spotted a lone TIE fighter, just two hundred yards off his nose. Luke banked easily onto the Imperial's tail and closed in for the kill. Suddenly, the TIE knifed hard right. Unable to maneuver, Luke lost the bandit in the chase. Luke pulled up and turned to resume the chase. Suddenly, while Luke was upside down, the TIE screamed in head on, blaster cannons blazing.

Luke couldn't believe it. Here came this Imp straight up at him, firing, the cockpit flaring with green. After Luke passed by without a scratch, the TIE pitched down into a steep dive. Luke nosed over and maneuvered his X-wing behind the Imperial. The two fighters plunged Death Star-ward, 600 feet every second. Below the combat the rugged peaks of the Death Star stretched out before them.

The Imperial nosed up steeply into a climb. They were pulling Gravity forces (Gs) like nobody's business. R2-D2 whined in protest while Luke was screaming as loud as he could, tightening his stomach muscles, so that he wouldn't black out or at least give him more tolerance. Luke clawed for altitude.

Luke was astonished to see the TIE coming straight down at him and shooting at him. Somehow, the Imperial has managed an impossibly sharp reverse. It was a maneuver that no pilot, Rebel or Imperial, should be able to handle.

_How the hell could he possibly go from straight up to straight down in just a couple of seconds? _Luke screamed in his mind. _How is this possible?_

Luke reversed and pursued his foe, closer and closer to the deck. They were hurtling Death Star-ward at over 450 miles per hour. Again, the TIE fighter lead Luke Skywalker through a high G pullout.

When a pilot pulls Gs, it's just like a curtain coming down over your face. And you can have the curtain go up or down by releasing or putting more pressure. You can still hear, you can still talk, you're still aware of what's going on, but you're blind. You haven't passed out yet, but you can't see.

As Luke released pressure on the stick, his vision returned, revealing the TIE fighter pouring in from above, cannons blazing. Luke was stunned. This Imperial was almost superhuman. The diving TIE whistled past Luke's canopy. With dogged persistence, Luke again gave chase. He pulled the stick into his stomach and dived after his prey.

The fight had descended from 24,000 feet to barely 500 feet. As the airspeed passed 400 miles per hour, both pilots were an instant from oblivion.

Luke Skywalker had just entered an arena were there was no room for error. During a wild chase to the deck, he had witnessed an TIE/LN fighter pilot performing impossibly difficult maneuvers. Now Luke was locked on his tail in a high speed pursuit in a mountain-like pass between towers and laser turrets. Luke was about 400 yards away from his foe and was about to pull the trigger when his helmet screamed to life.

"I got this guy!" Luke started saying.

"Red Five, you've got a fighter all over your tail!" someone screamed over the radio.

Luke looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, another TIE fighter was diving on him. The son of the late Clone War veteran came to a stunning realization. His enemy wasn't super human. Luke Skywalker had been dog fighting two TIE fighters the whole time! Now the second TIE closed in for the kill.

Luke had two lethal L-s1 blaster cannons pointed at the back of his head with only seconds to react. He couldn't dive, at 400 mph he plunge into the Death Star in less than two seconds. He couldn't bank because the TIE would easily stay on his easy.

_Barrel roll, son._

"Father?" Luke whispered aloud as he reacted without thinking, basically flipping up and over his enemy. He raised the X-wing's nose while pushing the stick over. The grey turrets and mountains of Alderaan's annihilator rolled over his head as he dropped onto the second TIE's 6 o'clock.

Luke smiled. Payback time.

He lined up the closest TIE in his computer-generated sights. The Jedi initiate hosed the Imperial fighter down with his four Taim &amp; Bak KX9 laser cannons. Red lasers pummeled the Imperial fighter. The TIE tumbled and spiraled out of control until it crashed into a gun turret in a ferocious fireball.

Scratch Three for Skywalker. But the first TIE was somewhere up ahead. Skywalker went balls to the walls, pushing the rubber balls on the throttle handles against the firewall. His four 4l4 fusial thrust engines were turned loose. He kept going down the valley at full speed. After about a minute and a half, the canyon of turrets, turned off to the left. Luke followed the canyon, too low to be targeted by the turbolaser batteries. He came to a wide expanse. He looked around to find a fighter coming right at him.

Luke prepared himself for a knock-out drag-out fight. But as he grew closer, Luke realized it was Biggs. The two passed each other and formed up, searching the stars for targets.

Suddenly, Biggs dived for the deck. As Luke looked down, he could see a trail of black smoke coming from the right as far as he could see, right down below them. Ahead of them was a TIE.

A wounded Imperial TIE fighter flying just above the deck, trailing smoke and fuel. Antilles saddled up for an easy kill. He pressed the trigger. Three bolts came out but then the cannons stopped. Antilles swore, pulled back to Luke.

"My guns are overheated," Biggs groaned. "He's all yours, you lucky hotshot."

As Biggs pulled back, Luke slid in behind the Imperial. Luke was pulling up kind of slow behind him, still going balls to the walls. The smoke from the TIE was so bad and thick that even Luke started to have trouble breathing. This low to the ground, a single miscalculation would be fatal.

"Shoot! Shoot!" Biggs yelled. "Shoot damn it!"

"Hold your horses, Biggs!"

Luke closed to 250 yards and pulled the trigger. The TIE became engulfed in flames and crashed into the deck at 450 miles an hour. Luke and Biggs climbed for altitude and headed back to the fight.

"Red Leader, this is Gold Leader," Jon Vander called out in his Y-wing bomber. "We're starting our attack run."

The three bombers approached the trench.

"I copy Gold Leader," Red Leader responded. "Move into position."

Elsewhere, two regular TIE fighters escorted and followed a bent winged fighter out of a hanger and into the black darkness of space.

"Stay in attack formation," Darth Vader told his escort.

Gold Squadron made their run.

"The exhaust port is marked and locked in," Vander reported, entering the trench.

Imperial crews lining the trench rudely awoke to the face that their heretofore ignored section of the station was coming under attack. They reacted speedily, and soon energy bolts were racing at the attacking bombers in a steadily increasing volume. Occasionally one would explode near one of the on rushing Y-wings, jostling it without real damage.

"Switch all power to front deflector screens," Gold Leader said. "Switch all power to front deflector screens...How many guns do you think, Gold Five?"

"I'd say about twenty guns," Davish Krail responded. "Some on the surface, some on the towers."

Gold Leader acknowledged the information with a grunt as he pulled his computer-targeting visor down in front of his face. Explosions continued to rock the bomber. "Switch to targeting computers," he declared."

"Computer's locked," Tiree said, his rising excitement marking his reply. "Getting a signal."

Unexpectedly, all defensive fire from the surrounding emplacements ceased. An eerie quiet clung to the trench as the surface continued to blur past the skimming Y-wings.

"The guns, they've stopped," Tiree blurted, looking around worriedly.

"Stabilize your rear deflectors. Watch for enemy fighters," Krail said, having been first to properly evaluate this seeming aberration on the enemy's part."

"They're coming in!" Gold Leader called, studying a readout. "Three marks at two-ten."

The three Imperial fighters approached.

"I'll take them myself," Darth Vader announced as he calmly adjusted his controls. The stars whipped past behind him. "Cover me."

"Yes, sir," the pilots replied.

Gold Two was the first to die, the young pilot never knowing what hit him. His fighter dissolved in flames.

"It's no good!" Vander cried out. "I can't maneuver!"

"Stay on target," an older voice admonished.

"We're too close!"

"Stay on target."

"Loosen up!" were Gold Leader's last words.

His Y-wing exploded in a ball of vaporized metal, scattering a few solid shards of debris across the trench. This second loss proved too much even for Gold Five to take. He manipulated controls, and his ship commenced rising in a slow curve out of the trench. Behind him, the lead Imperial fighter moved to follow.

"Gold Five, to Red Leader," he reported. "Lost Tiree, lost Dutch."

Astern, a silent, remorseless enemy was touching a deadly button once more. The first bolts struck just as 'Pops' Krail had risen high enough to commence evasive action. But he had pulled clear a few seconds too late.

"I copy, Gold Leader."

"It came from behind!"

An energy beam seared his port engine, severing it from the fuselage and igniting gas within. The engine blew apart, taking controls and stabilizing elements with it. Unable to compensate, the out of control Y-wing began a short, explosive plunge toward the station surface.

Luke sighed in mourning.

DEATH STAR

Within the central control room of the battle station, a harried officer rushed up to a figure studying the great battle screen.

"We've analyzed their attack, sir, and there is a danger. Shall I have your ship standing by?"

Governor Tarkin turned an incredulous gaze on the officer. "Evacuate?" he roared. "In our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their chances."

"Rebel Base, three minutes and closing," the P.A. announced.

SPACE

"Red boys, this is Red Leader. Rendezvous at Mark six-point-one."

"This is Red Two, flying towards you," Wedge replied.

"Red Three, standing by," Biggs reported in.

_"Red Leader, this is Base One," _Jan Dodonna chimed in from Yavin IV. _"Keep half your group of range for the next run."_

"Copy, Base One. Luke, take Reds Two and Three. Hold up here and wait for my signal to start your run."

Luke, Wedge and Biggs formed up.

Reds Leader, Ten and Twelve reached the surface, leveled off, then arced into the trench. Leader's wingmen dropped farther and farther behind until Red Leader was seemingly alone in the vast gray chasm. Turrets spat out defensive fire of green at him. Near misses shook the attackers. At the far end of the trench a huge tower dominated the metal ridge, vomiting enormous amounts of energy at the nearing ships.

"This is it!" Red Leader called.

"We should be able to see it by now," Nett said.

After a few more seconds, defensive fire no longer greeted the trio as they raced toward the target. Garven Dreis found himself looking around nervously, checking and rechecking the same instruments.

"Keep your eyes open for those fighters," Dreis commanded.

"There's two much interference," Nett reported tensely. "Red Five, can you see them from where you are?"

Luke's attention was riveted to the surface of the station. "No sign of any...Wait! Coming in point three-five."

Red Ten turned and looked in the indicated direction. Sun bounced off stabilizing fins as the TIE fighters looped downward. "I see them," he said calmly.

"I'm almost in range," Red Leader exclaimed as his tracking scope suddenly began a steady beeping. He adjusted his targeting instrumentation, pulling the visor down over his left eye. "Target's coming up...Just hold them off for a few seconds."

"Close up formation," Vader told his escort.

"Almost there..." Dreis whispered.

Vader lined up and fired. Both of Puck Naeco's engines blew. A slight deviation in flight path and his ship slammed into the trench wall. Nett accelerated, bobbed drunkenly, but could do little within the confines of the metal walls of the trench.

"You better let 'em loose!" Nett cried out. "They're right behind me!"

"Almost there..." Dreis repeated. He was wholly absorbed in lining up two lines within his targeting visor. He was surprisingly calm. The targeting device was partly responsible, enabling him to concentrate on tiny, abstract images to the exclusion of all else, helping him to shut out the rest of the inimical universe.

"I can't hold them!"

One of Vader's fighter escort opened fire and Nett fell to the man's precision fire.

Right then, the two lines matched, turned red, and a steady buzzing sounded in Dreis's helmet. He pressed the button. He let his own missiles loose. He pulled up sharply, just clearing the end of the trench as several explosions billowed in their wake.

"It's away!" he cried out.

The explosion killed some stormtroopers, sucking some of them out and shook half the station.

"Is it a hit?" someone asked.

"Negative, negative," Dreis's reply was thick with disappointment. "It didn't go in. It just impacted on the surface."

The three pursuing Imperial fighters continued up out of the fading light from the torpedo explosions. Vader changed course slightly to fall in behind the squadron commander.

Luke was trying to pick the assault team out of the glowing gases below when Red Leader's voice sounded over the communicator. Meanwhile, Vader finally succeeded in hitting his quarry, a glancing bolt that nonetheless started small, intense explosions in one engine. Its R-2 struggled to repair the crippled power plane.

Luke saw that Red Leader was in trouble. "We're right above you," he declared. "Turn to point...0-5. We'll cover for you."

"Stay there," the reply came, "I've just lost my starboard engine. Get set up for your attack run."

Vader fired again, hitting another engine. The remainder of Red Squadron realized what was happening when they heard Red Leader's scream over the radio. His gyrating X-wing plowed into the surface of the station. Luke watched the explosion dissipate below him, knowing without question its cause, sensing fully for the first time the helplessness of his situation.

"Biggs, Wedge, let's close it up," Luke was saying, thousands of kilometers away from Yavin. "We're going in. We're going in full throttle. That'll oughta keep those fighters off our backs."

"Right with you, boss," Antilles replied as he made to form up.

"Luke, at that speed, will we be able to pull out in time?" Biggs asked.

"It'll be just like Beggars Canyon back home," Luke sneered playfully as they began their dive toward the surface.

At high speed the three slim fighters charged the glowing surface, pulling out after the last moment. Luke skimmed so close over the station hull that the tip of one wing grazed a protruding antenna, sending metal splinters flying. Instantly, they were enveloped in a mesh work of energy bolts and explosive projectiles. It intensified as they dropped down into the trench.

"We'll stay back far enough to cover ya," Biggs declared.

"My scope shows the tower but I can't see the exhaust port," Wedge chimed in, not quite as confident as he studied his own readouts. "You're sure the computer can hit it?"

"Watch yourselves," Luke ordered his companions. "Increase speed, full throttle."

"What about that tower?" Wedge asked worriedly.

"You worry about those fighters!" Luke snapped. "I'll worry about the tower!"

They rushed on, closing on the target every second. Energy bolts reached out for them, passing harmlessly on both sides as the surface of the battle station charged up into Luke's face. But the defensive fire wasn't the cause of the renewed trembling Luke suddenly experienced. Several critical gauges were beginning their swing back into the danger zone.

"Artoo, that-that stabilizer's broken loose again. See if you can't lock it down. Hang on back there!"

Artoo replied in confirmation. Tireless explosions continued to buffet against the three fighters' shields as they charged down the trench. A peculiar hesitation swept through Luke. His hand was slower yet as he finally pulled the targeting visor down in front of his eye, almost as if the nerves were in conflict with one another. As expected, the energy beams stopped as if on signal and he was barreling down the trench unchallenged.

"Fighters, coming in at point 3," Wedge declared as he spotted three Imperial fighters dropping down on them.

Biggs and Wedge began crossing behind Luke, trying to draw the coming fire away from him and confuse their pursuers. One TIE fighter ignored the maneuvers, continuing to gain inexorably on the rebel ships.

Luke stared into the targeting device-then reached up slowly to move it aside. For a long minute he pondered the deactivated instrument, staring at it as if hypnotized. Then he slid it sharply back in front of his face and studied the tiny screen as it displayed the shifting relationship of the X-wing to the nearing exhaust port.

One of Vader's escorts turned a knob and fired at Wedge. He was fighting with his own controls when several small flashes and sparks lit his control board. One small panel exploded, leaving molten slag behind. Somehow he managed to retain control of the ship.

"I'm hit," he announced. "I can't stay with you."

"Get clear, Wedge," Luke told him. "You can't do any more good back there."

"Sorry!" Wedge mumbled as he peeled up out of the trench.

"Let him go," Vader told his escort. "Stay on the leader."

The remaining five fighters continued racing down the trench.

"Hurry, Luke," Biggs exclaimed. "They're coming much faster this time. I can't hold them."

The race continued.

"Artoo, try to increase the power!"

Artoo affirmed that the power was at its maximum.

"Hurry up, Luke!" Biggs screamed. "Quick! Quick!"

With inhuman precision, Darth Vader depressed the fire control of his fighter again. A loud, desperate shout sounded over the speakers, blending into a final agonized scream of flesh and metal as Biggs's fighter burst into a billion glowing splinters that rained down on the bottom of the trench.

Luke heard the explosion but didn't reply immediately. His eyes were watering, and he angrily wiped them clear. They were blurring his view of the targeting readout.

"I'm on the leader," Vader said.

As Luke adjusted his targeting visor, there was a sensation inside his head.

_Use the Force, Luke,_ a voice said.

Luke stared into the target visor. The emergency exhaust port was sliding toward the firing circle.

_Let go, Luke._

As Vader closed in, he reached out with his senses. "The Force is strong with this one."

Slightly shaking his head, as if to clear something from his vision, he looked back into the visor.

_Luke, trust me._

He hesitated, but only briefly this time, then shoved the targeting screen aside.

"His computer's off," Base One said. "Luke, you switched off your targeting computer. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Luke said in a voice as if everything was clear now. "I'm alright."

Vader, concentrating his attention on the one ship remaining before him, fired.

Luke didn't see the near-lethal explosion, which burst close behind him. Nor did he have time to examine the smoking shell of twisted metal, which now rode alongside one engine. The arms went limp on the little droid. An electronic scream blared in his helmet.

"I've lost Artoo!" Luke cried.

YAVIN IV  
BASE ONE

Leia gasped as she looked at the table that displayed the Death Star, Yavin Prime and Yavin IV. The Death Star had negotiated its way around Yavin Prime and was now in firing range of Yavin IV. A computer warned them this as well.

"The Death Star has cleared the planet. The Death Star has cleared the planet."

DEATH STAR

REBEL BASE IN RANGE

"You may fire when ready," Tarkin told General Moradmin Bast and the crew of the Death Star.

COMMENCE PRIMARY IGNITION

SPACE

All three TIE fighters continued to chase the remaining X-wing down the trench. It was only a matter of moments before one of them caught the bobbing fighter with a crippling burst.

Luke's fighter lined up on the targeting screen of Vader's computer.

"I have you now!" the Dark Lord gloated and fired. A few short bursts and a fighter was destroyed but it wasn't the Rebel that was the fatality.

Now there were only two Imperial pursuing. The third had become an expanding cylinder of decomposing debris, bits and pieces of which slammed into the walls of the canyon.

"What?!" Vader exclaimed.

Vader's remaining wingman looked around in panic for the source of the attack. The same distortion fields that confused rebel instrumentation now did likewise to the two TIE fighters.

"YAHOO!" a voice hollered.

Only when the fighter fully eclipsed the sun forward did the new threat become visible. It was a Corellian transport, far larger than any fighter, and it was diving directly at the trench. But it didn't move precisely like a freighter, somehow.

"Look out!" Vader's remaining escort screamed.

Whoever was piloting that vehicle must have been unconscious or out of his mind, the wingman decided. Wildly he adjusted controls in an attempt to avoid the anticipated collision. The freighter swept by just overhead, but in missing it the wingman slid too far to one side.

A small explosion followed as two huge fins of the paralleling TIE fighters intersected. Screaming uselessly into his pickup, the wingman fluttered toward the near trench wall. He never touched it, his ship erupting in flame before contact.

To the other side, Darth Vader's fighter began spinning helplessly.

Unimpressed by the Dark Lord's desperate glower, various controls and instruments gave back readings, which were brutally truthful. Completely out of control, the tiny ship continued spinning in the opposite direction from the destroyed wingman—out into the endless reaches of deep space.

Whoever was at the controls of the supple freighter was neither unconscious nor insane—well, perhaps slightly touched, but fully in command nonetheless. It soared high above the trench, turning to run protectively above Luke.

"You're all clear now, kid," a familiar voice informed him. "Now blow this thing so we can all go home."

This pep talk was followed by a reinforcing grunt, which could only have been produced by a particularly large Wookiee.

Taking a deep breath, and immersing himself in the Force, Luke lined up and fired. The torpedoes raced forward. Luke willed the torpedoes to go in the exhaust port. When he registered the torpedoes had gone, he let himself in a loud gasp. He pulled up and out of the trench and away.

Two X-wings, one Y-wing, and one battered-looking freighter accelerated away from the battle station, racing toward the distant curve of Yavin.

Behind them small flashes of fading light marked the receding warning, something appeared in the sky in place of it, which was brighter than the glowing gas giant, brighter than its far-off sun. For a few seconds the eternal night became day. No one dared look directly at it. Not even multiple shields set on high could dim that awesome flare.

Space filled temporarily with trillions of microscopic metal fragments, propelled past the retreating ships by the liberated energy of a small artificial sun. The collapsed residue of the battle station would continue to consume itself for several days, forming for that brief span of time the most impressive tombstone in this corner of the cosmos.

"Great shot kid!" Solo complimented him, having to raise his voice to be heard over Chewbacca's unrestrained howling. "That was one in a million!"

Luke smiled as he heard that familiar voice again.

_Remember, the Force will be with you...Always._

"Now let's get out of here," Han said.

"Couldn't agree more," Luke responded.

Luke began descending to the surface of Yavin IV. Suddenly, he noticed a lone Y-wing bomber being followed. The Y-wing was being chased by two TIE fighters that got out of the Death Star just in time. Luke broke into a steep, screaming dive to help the outnumbered Y-wing. But in his excitement, Luke dived too fast, passing the three star fighters without being able to fire a shot, though the fast movement did convince the two TIEs to break off. Wedge came in behind the TIEs and took care of them.

Luke pulled and turned the control yoke. The X-wing didn't respond. His fighter plummeted out of control, plunging toward the Yavin forests. The speed built up in his dive had rendered his flight controls useless. The X-wing star fighter was now gripped by an aerodynamic effect known as 'Compressibility'. Basically, as Luke approached the speed of sound, the air on the leading edge of Luke's wings began to compress. As the speed increased, a shock wave developed. The air flow over the wings and critical control surfaces was disrupted. The pilot was no longer master of his machine.

Luke screamed as he pulled and yanked at the yoke as hard as he could, getting no response. As he reached the denser air at lower altitude, the control surfaces began to respond. He pulled back hard on the control yoke. He pulled so many Gs that half of his canopy window broke out, which terrified Luke as it would anyone. He pulled up right above the tree tops.

With both mission accomplished and a shattered canopy, it was time for Luke to head back to base.

But a string of green laser fire brought Luke back into the fight. There was a TIE shooting at him from behind. Luke only had one option. He went for the extreme. He flat planned, pulled on the yoke as hard as he could, turned hard left ninety degrees and shuddered into a high speed stall. It was the star fighter equivalent of locking the brakes.

With a G force like that, Luke slowed down rapidly, the X-wing turning on its side at 90 degrees. ZOOM! The TIE overshot and zoomed in front of Luke. He rolled the wings level, lined up and pulled the trigger. Red beams pummeled the TIE. It spun and spiraled until it hit slammed into the trees.

It was Luke's fifth kill. He was now an ace. Not only that, but a hero.

_I'm proud of you, son,_ Luke heard his father tell him.

Luke smiled as he flew to Base One.

**Review.**


	5. You Killed My Father

**Based on Star Wars: Skywalker Strikes, with Ahsoka Tano inserted here. I was thrilled to see her joining the action in **_**Rebels.**_

CYMOON I  
WEAPONS FACTORY ALPHA

Disguised as bodyguards that usually followed Jabba the Hutt, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa followed Captain Han Solo out of the ship to the landing platform of Weapons Factory Alpha.

_Alpha, _Luke thought. _How original._

An Imperial officer escorted by half a dozen stormtroopers and 4-LOM, a droid bounty hunter.

"Greetings, in the name of the Emperor. He thanks you for joining us here today and hopes our negotiations prove swift and fruitful. I am Overseer Aggadeen. Whom do I have the honor of addressing?"

With a strut of someone who erroneously thought he was a boss, Han Solo and his two companions and R2-D2 came walking down the ramp.

"The official emissary of his high exaltedness, the illustrious Jabba the Great, mightiest of all Hutts, master of Tatooine and grand warlord of the Outer Rim. But you can call me Han." Han shook Aggadeen's hand. "Han Solo. Pleasure to meet ya, Aggie."

Leia shook her head. She hated Imperials but she knew better than to address them like that. Han was practically begging to be shot now.

"I'm sure you've heard of me. Been a pilot of Jabba for a lotta years."

"Yes, I'm certain you have. But we don't hear much about smugglers or gangsters in this sector. Except when they're being executed. If you'll follow me..."

The droid 4-LOM stepped forward and analyzed the young Captain. "Identity confirmed. Han Solo, small-time smuggler galactic pirate."

Han raised an eye brow. "Small-time?"

"Known associate of Jabba the Hutt. Currently with a bounty on his head of 50,000 credits."

Suddenly, Han was bashful and felt awkward. "Ah, I can explain that. It's a funny story really..."

Obviously, the Imperial officer had little patience. "Some other time perhaps," Aggadeen said. "Your..._bodyguards_ must leave their weapons here. You will all be scanned for blasters. If you have hidden ones, best to turn them over freely. We wouldn't want to start the negotiations on a sour note, now would we?"

"No, we wouldn't want that," Han said as he pulled out his DL-44 blaster, handing it over. "You heard the man, bodyguards. No guns."

Not far away, a 200 year old Wookiee observed every from a vantage point among the rooftops, through his sniper rifle.

"We're going in," Leia whispered on her earpiece. "Everyone, hold your positions."

_"Oh thank the maker. I was half expecting them to kill you all on sight."_

Luke could hardly stop himself from laughing at C-3PO's constant worrying.

_"The subterfuge must actually be working. They believe you truly are the envoy from Jabba. When of course the real envoy was intercepted days ago by the Rebel fleet."_

"Threepio," Luke whispered too. "Shut up."

_"Yes, of course, I'm just thrilled to see us finally operating like a sufficiently lubricated machine. It would seem the tide of war has finally turned in our favor. In short, I dare say...I have a very good feeling about this."_

Luke rolled his eyes behind his helmet. He liked the droid, but good God he wouldn't shut up.

"I hope you boys are prepared for some vigorous negotiating," Han started as they strolled inside the factory. "If you think ol' Jabba is tough to bargain with, well, who do you think taught him all that?"

"It appears you have some misconceptions about what will happen here today, Mr. Solo," Aggadeen coldly retorted, turning around to make the entire party stop. "There will be no bargaining. The negotiator will deliver the Empire's terms and you will accept them. Your organization will provide whatever raw materials we require and will the pay you are given, without complaint. This is the largest weapons factory in the galaxy, one that runs nonstop, day and night. All fully automated. We have an entire Empire to keep armed and ready. We haven't the time or inclination to bargain with every two-bit Hutt or Moff who gets in our way."

Han smiled. "And yet...here we are. An envoy from all the way out on the scuzziest edges of space. You boys must be pretty _desperate _if you're reaching out to somebody like Jabba to be a supplier. I suppose having a ship the size of the Death Star blow up in your faces...tends to run your resources a bit _dry_, am I right, Aggie?"

Luke and Leia bought groaned in their heads. Just keep pushing him, Han. See where it got them.

"The negotiator will arrive shortly," Aggadeen said as they arrived at a room that held a large table and multiple comfy chairs. "You will wait him within."

"I bet it's nice and quiet in there," Han inqueried.

"It is shielded, yes."

"You know, I kinda prefer it out here where it's all loud and noisy."

Aggadeen looked at Han. "Don't be idiotic. Why in the world would we hold negotiations on the factory floor?"

"Don't you remember?" Han said, widening his smile. He tapped on his droid friend. "You said it yourself...We're not here to negotiate Artoo..."

R2-D2 began to liquidate a green smelly liquid. Three stormtroopers looked down as their white boots were covered with the sticky substance.

"You're droid appears to be leaking fluids," Aggadeen observed.

"Um...Artoo?" Han impatiently said.

Suddenly, a little compartment in Artoo opened a little two-pronged appendage appeared. The prongs sparkled then shot into the fluid. The three stormtroopers convulsed and shook as blinding white bolts of energy coruscated from the appendage through the fuel, and tore through their insides, looking for ground.

With the confusion caused by the electrocution, Luke and Leia sprung into action. They attacked the nearest stormtroopers, Luke grabbing one's head and snapping his neck while Leia simply whopped the stormtrooper with jujitsu. Luke took another stormtrooper's head and repeatedly smashed his helmeted-head against the wall until blood started pouring. Han punched a seventh stormtrooper then finished him off with a downward bionic elbow strike on the neck.

"Oh my...This is..." Aggadeen gasped, his eyes barely contained in their sockets. "This is _insanity_. What kind of an envoy are you?!"

"The _Rebellious _kind," Han answered, pointing a fallen stormtrooper's blaster at the surviving Imperial as Leia finished off the eighth and final stormtrooper. "Which way to the main power core?"

"Rebels," Aggadeen spat. "You've just...doomed yourselves. This moon is the most heavily guarded base in the galaxy. You cannot possibly escape alive."

"Let us worry about that," Han said, raising the rifle. "Which way?"

"I am a sworn officer of the Empire," Aggadeen said, standing tall. "I will _never_ tell you." When Artoo approached with the crackling appendage, the 'officer' pointed to his left. "That way."

"Thanks," Leia said. She thanked him by sucker punching him.

"Nice work, Artoo," Luke said, everyone out of their disguises.

"We're in," Leia commed Threepio as they raced down towards the main power core. "Move to phase two."

"Threepio, you worthless rust bucket, you better not have damaged my ship," Han growled.

_"For once, sir,"_ Threepio replied. _"the _Millennium Falcon _actually appears to be in good working order. As we hoped, Chewbacca was able to pilot us undetected through the moon's orbital debris field. At present, the _Falcon_ and I are safely hidden amongst the rather extensive refuse fields that surround the factory. If I may say so, Captain Solo, I do find it rather disconcerting that your vessel continues to be so easily mistaken for garbage."_

"You'll be garbage if you mess this up, goldenrod!"

_"There are automated sentries patrolling this area. I am not certain how much longer I can remain undetected. I suggest you act quickly."_

"Just be ready to hit the auto-pilot as soon as we give you signal."

_"Yes, sir. Of course, sir. May the Force be with you, sir."_

Luke snickered at Threepio uttering that phrase. A droid saying that was like Jawa's wish Tuskens peace.

"May the Force be with us all," Luke said.

After having found the central power station, the strike team waited until a squad of stormtroopers left. When the coast was clear, the team went to work.

"This is it," Han confirmed. "The central power station."

"Plug in, Artoo," Leia ordered. "And shut down all safety restraints."

"Luke, we'll rig this thing to blow," Han said as he readied the explosives. "You keep an eye out for stormtroopers."

Luke heard Han, but didn't register him. Something was calling to him. As if begging for his attention. Luke closed his eyes and repeated to himself what a wise man once told him as he descended some stairs.

"'Your eyes can deceive you...A true Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him'. Hello? Hello, is anyone...there?"

Luke discovered something astonishing. At the bottom of the stairs was a cage. A cage of massive size, a few feet taller than him but was very wide. Locked inside were people of several species, including Bith, Togruta, Mon Calamari, Ithorians, Zabaraks and Twi'leks.

Slaves of the Empire, Luke thought.

"'Fully automated'. Even that was a lie," Luke told himself as he holstered his blaster. "Don't worry, I'll get you outta there."

"Hey!" a voice yelled.

Luke turned to find a heavy-set man with an electro-whip approaching him. "Get away from those cages! Unless you'd prefer to be in one. Who are you?!"

Luke prepared himself. He thought back to that moment when Obi-Wan Kenobi made a squad of sandtroopers let them pass with the wave of a hand and some short sentences. Luke reached out with the Force.

"These aren't the slaves you're looking for," Luke said in his best Kenobi impression.

"What?" the slaver said, his face contort with confusion.

"It was worth a try," Luke told himself. He straightened himself. "I suppose we'll have to do this the-"

"You reach for that blaster, kid," the slaver interrupted, raising his whip, "I take your pretty face off."

"Okay, calm down," Luke said calmly. "You have my word. I won't reach for my blaster."

Which he didn't. In one second, accompanied by a distinct _snap-hiss_, a blade of blue plasma

_Okay, the Hammer's coming down,_ he thought.

The slaver lunged at the young boy. Luke raised his blade and send the whip to the side. He brought his blade down in an blue arc.

"Aaaarrggghhh!" the slaver screamed, grabbing the stump of his right hand. He convulsed on the ground in agony.

Luke brought his lightsaber to destroy the lock on the cage. Kicking it away, Luke opened the cage door and stood tall.

"My name is Luke Skywalker. And I'm here in the name of the Rebel Alliance. Anyone who hates the Empire...follow me."

CENTRAL POWER STATION

Han punched in a few keys. "Countdown's started. Ten minutes to overload. Time to get moving. Luke! Let's go!"

"Thank you, Han," Leia said out of the blue.

"Wait until we're in the _Falcon_," Han responded, looking around a corner. "A few light years away from here. Then you can thank me in style, Princess. Luke? Where is that kid?"

"No matter what happens next, I just want you to know I appreciate what you've done here today," Leia continued. "You put your face in front of the Empire. You didn't have to do that."

Han shrugged. "I thought we agreed it was the only way to pull off this crazy stunt of yours."

"But now the whole galaxy will know...that Han Solo is one of us."

"One of us?" Han blinked. "Now hold on there, your excellency. I'm still just a smuggler with a price on his head. I'm not-"

"I do have one question for you, though," Leia interrupted.

Han raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, what's that?"

"_Why?_ Why would you do that? What is it you really want, Han Solo?"

Han blinked again. To be honest, he didn't know. Something, or a certain someone, had drawn him to this cause. It felt right. And while Han Solo was a smuggler who did any job that paid, he stil had a conscience. While in the Imperial Navy five years ago, he could have let a Wookiee slave die at the hands of Commander Nyklas. He wasn't getting paid to save the Wookiee. But he did it. He stunned Nyklas and helped Chewbacca escape. Han was court-martialed and dishonorably discharged, but Han found a loyal best friend. Though Han would've left the Navy anyway, due to his rebellious nature, the ridiculous Imperial regulations, incompetent officers and widespread anti-alien prejudice.

So now Han and his best friend Chewbacca were smugglers and under the employ of Jabba the Hutt. Or...at least they was. Until Han had to dump that spice cargo at the first sign of an Imperial Star Destroyer.

He didn't have intention of actually participating in any cause other than saving his and Chewbacca's skin from the 50,000 bounty on his head. That day he was transporting, or smuggling, that Jedi, his young ward and the two droids was just a job to him. That exit from hyperspace changed _everything._ Smuggling people to Alderaan turned into a rescue mission, an escape from the most powerful battle station in galactic history and then his participating in the destruction of said station.

Han Solo really didn't know why he was still with them. The Rebel Alliance paid him with a good reward, but he still felt compelled to fight for the Cause. But his motive was still a mystery. Still, he had to play it off as if he knew what he was doing.

"Um...maybe now's not the best time to..."

"We ready to go?" a familiar voice called. Han and Leia turned to see Luke walking towards them. And he was not alone. "I found a few more passengers."

"A _few_?" Han exclaimed.

"Slaves," Leia gasped. "Luke..."

"They're coming with us, Leia," Luke said as a matter of fact.

"Sure," Han said as he activated the comlink on his left wrist. "The more the merrier, kid. All right, guys. It's time. Threepio, hit the autopilot. Get the _Falcon_ in the air. Chewie, you stand by to clear that roof as soon as we give you the signal. Then, the _Falcon_ swoops in to pick us up, we hit the hyperdrive and we're outta here just before..."

_"Wrraaaaaarr," _was the Wookiee's response.

"A ship coming in?" Han asked.

"What ship?" Leia put in.

_"Wrrrrrraarr!"_

"Vader?" Han exclaimed.

"Did you say Vader?" Luke gasped.

"Chewie, stand down! Do not fire! You take a shot at Darth Vader and the whole factory will be on alert!"

"Are you crazy?" Leia yelled. If she could have the man who arranged her home world's planet die, she'd take any chance, even if she died as well. She grabbed Han's arm. "Chewbacca! If you have a shot at Vader, I _order_ you to take it! Forget about us! Killing him is more important! Do you hear me, Chewie? Take the shot! NOW!"

_"Wraaaaaah!"_

For a minute, the trio could hear Chewbacca's growling, blaster fire, the screams of dying stormtroopers and infrastructure coming apart.

"Chewie! Chewie, come in!" Han yelled.

"We're in trouble," Leia said.

"No, not yet. We can still-"

Suddenly, the lights in the hall were replaced by red lights. Loud klaxons filled the air.

_"Alert! This factory is under attack! All guards to their stations!"_

"_Now_ we're in trouble," Han said. "We'll have to blast our way out. We still have the _Falcon_. Threepio! Threepio, get us outta here! Hit the auto-pilot!"

_"I did, sir. I pressed the button...five minutes ago. I'm afraid...nothing happen."_

Han's face turned red. "You useless sack of springs! What did you do to my ship?!"

_"Oh, dear. It appears the _Millennium Falcon_...is being dismantled by native scavengers. They must call these trash fields home."_

"Well go out there and stop them!"

_"Me? Go out..."_

"There's a blaster in the cockpit! Do whatever you have to do! Threepio!?"

_"Oh. Oh...dear."_

Before Han could scream at the golden droid again, half a dozen stormtroopers appeared.

"There they are!" the sergeant called. "Open fire!"

The loud klaxons were joined by the sound of blaster fire. Luke, Han and Leia provided covering fire while they lead the slaves through a door that lead into a hanger.

"This way! In here!" Han yelled as he fired at the Imperials with the rifle, one-handed. Once everyone was through, Han went through and slammed it shut and locked it.

"Great work, Han, if your plan was to get us trapped," Leia scorned. "How do we get out of here?"

Han looked up, and smiled. "Heh. We _walk_, your highness."

Everyone looked up to see huge All Terrain Armored Transport walkers. They were imposing, quadrupedal combat walkers that stood at 73 feet high. The vehicle's cockpit was located in the head part. The walkers had dual Taim &amp; Bak MS-1 fire-linked heavy laser cannons under the chin of the cockpit and two FF-4 medium repeating blasters, one on each side of the cockpit.

"Everybody on board!" Han yelled. "MOVE!"

"An Imperial walker. Can you even drive one of those things?"

"I can drive anything," Han responded. "Let's go!"

Leia walked a few steps before she realized something. Something, or someone, was missing.

"Wait...where's Luke?" she asked.

HALLWAYS

Luke did not accompany them. He strolled down the hallways, looking left and right at every turn. Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded.

_Luke..._

"Ben?" Luke gasped. "Ben is that you? Ben, he's here. Darth Vader. The man who killed my father. Who killed you. I have to face him. I have to end this."

A part of Luke didn't know whether he decision to confront Vader was for the Alliance...or personal vengeance for the murders of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Maybe both. Though Luke was leaning more on avenging his father and mentor's deaths. Did that matter? This was Vader. He killed thousands of people. Betrayed the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic. Destroyed Alderaan. Enslaved millions...and killed his father. Luke never got to know his father because of this monster. Maybe the Sith Lord killed his mother too. Luke felt a ting of remorse for never inquiring about his mother. All he knew she was a politician.

That was when he saw him. Luke took a hold of his father's lightsaber and ignited the blade. He held his blade in front of him to guard.

_Luke...listen to me carefully...Run._

Vader stopped and examined the boy holding the blue lightsaber. He felt disgusted at how clumsily the young man held. This was no Jedi.

"You hold that weapon like an untrained child," Vader berated. "You, boy, are _no _Jedi. Who are you?"

"You killed my father," Luke hissed.

"I've killed very many fathers," Vader said. "You'll have to be more specific."

Luke couldn't stand it anymore. This man, or whatever was left of a man he was, had killed both his father and his mentor and destroyed the Republic and Jedi Order he swore to serve. Shouting in fury, Luke lunged at the man in black.

Vader easily blocked the young boy's blow and sent Luke falling to the side. Luke grunted as he turned his fall into a roll. Luke brought his blade to guard as he rose on his knee.

"This is most pathetic," Vader condemned. "You are not worth the seconds it would take to finish you. Who sent you here to die like this?"

Luke's fury rose as he raised his blade. "I was there, on the Death Star. I saw what you did to him. You killed Master Kenobi! And now I'm here to make sure you-"

Before Luke could continue his rant, his father's lightsaber was ripped from his hands.

"NO!"

The lightsaber, blade still lit, came into the black gloved hand. Vader barely looked at before shaking his head.

"So...Obi-Wan Kenobi gave you this lightsaber," he said, sounding disgusted. "A shame he did not teach you how to wield it. He never did make for much of a master."

"How did you...?"

Vader held both his lightsaber and the blue lightsaber in his hands as if ready to strike. "The Force will never be with you, boy. Your master has fallen. What hope have you? If you wish to live, you will tell me all you know of the Rebellion. Including the nature of this attack. And then you will lead me to the Rebel pilot who destroyed the Death Star...and watch as I strike him down. Speak quickly. Or join your father."

Luke held his head high. "I'd rather die than yield to you."

"So be it."

Vader raised the blades, ready to cut the boy criss-cross in two pieces. But a glance in his peripheral vision made his hesitate. The blue bladed lightsaber looked...familiar. The hand grip, cylinder handle, the buttons on the front and back, the two flanges near the emitter and the jewel like ignition switch.

"Wait...This lightsaber..." he pondered. "I know this weapon. This once belonged to-"

Before Vader could verbally identify the blade's owner, the foot of an AT-AT crashed through the roof. Both combatants managed to dive out of the way before the foot crushed the ground where they once stood.

"Han?!" Luke screamed into his comlink after recovering his breath.

_"Watch out, kid!" _Han called out on the comlink. _"This thing handles like a drunken bantha. I'm clearing us a path outta here, Luke. You and the rest of your friends follow me. Oh, Chewie would _love _this."_

_"There's Vader!" _Leia shouted._ "Let's ram this thing right down his throat!"_

_"Aye-aye, Princess."_

By this time, Luke noticed that stormtroopers were firing at the hijacked AT-AT. This was futile for the armor on the behemoth was built to withstand punishment. The AT-AT was basically the land-version of a battleship. Suddenly, the stormtroopers were overcome by slaves, the violent ones. They attacked the Imperials with everything they could get their hands on, shrapnel, sticks, rocks and even their bare hands.

"Death to the Empire!" they screamed in unison.

"Fight, my brothers!" a Zabrak yelled, handing Luke a blaster rifle. "For freedom! For vengeance!"

"This way!" Luke called. "Follow the walker! And keep away from-"

While Luke rallied his new comrades, a Mon Calamari screamed. Luke turned to see the poor guy with Luke's lightsaber in his chest.

"Vader," he whispered. "No."

Luke turned to see Vader cutting down the Rebel slaves one by one. "All stormtroopers, report to my position at once. We have the Rebels cornered."

"No one else dies because of him," Luke swore as he reached for his father's ancient weapon. But the lightsaber zoomed through the air towards Vader's hand.

"Kill them all," Vader ordered. "Or you will answer to me."

The stormtroopers didn't hesitate to gun down the freed prisoners. Some of them were unarmed. Luke's stomach sank.

"Oh Ben," he whispered. "What have I done?"

Luke picked up a blaster and fired at the stormtroopers, taking cover behind some metal crates.

"Stay down!" he yelled to the surviving escapees. "We'll figure a way out of this! Won't we?"

A Twi'lek getting cut down by his lightsaber made him think others.

"This is my fault, Ben," he prayed. "I"m not my father. I'm not a Jedi. I'm just...some stupid farm boy from Tatooine. I don't belong here. I don't..."

Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

"Yeah, I'm a farm boy, all right," he said with a smirk. "A farm boy who can bullseye womp rats."

Vader removed his blade from a Bothan as the rest of the stormtroopers gathered around him.

"The Rebels are trapped, Lord Vader. But we'll need ion cannons to bring down that walker."

"Leave the walk to me," Vader replied. "Just make certain you-"

Suddenly, without warning, the stormtroopers were cut down red lasers. Vader turned his head to see the wannabe Jedi boy on a 74-Z speeder bike, Ax-20 blaster cannon blazing. Other stormtroopers came to attack him, but Luke deliberately ran into them. Only one shot got fired, and that just hit the ceiling.

"That boy," Vader said as he watched him speed off. "Perhaps I was too hasty to dismiss him. Just what have you been up to, Obi-Wan?"

Suddenly, an AT-AT foot slammed down right next to him. The foot rose to slam back down on him. Vader raised a hand and the foot remained suspended in the air. Reaching out in the Force, Vader began to tear the walker apart from the inside. The walker started to spark and twitch.

A push of a button fired the cannons on the canopy. Vader had no time to react as red hot lasers slammed against him.

"GGAAAAGGHH!" he screamed, losing grip of the blue lightsaber.

_"No word from Chewie or Threepio. Luke, please tell me you're still with us."_

"On my way, Han. Just need to pick something up."

Luke grabbed his father's lightsaber and sped off, picking off one stormtrooper while he was at it.

"No sign of Vader," he said through the comlink. "Let's move out."

_"I don't think we'll be seeing any more of Vader, kid. Not after what we just did to him."_

"I wish I could believe that..." Luke whole heartily wished. "But you don't know the power of the Force."

By the time Luke zoomed away, the battlefield was experiencing a deep calm. The only source of movement was smoke and what was left of the stormtroopers and the few remaining prisoner captives, now taken prisoner again.

Suddenly, a powerful blast

"Lord Vader, we have..."

The stormtrooper stopped as he realized he was face to unmasked face with Vader.

It was the angry, twisted face of an old man. Bald, beardless, with a mighty scar running from the top of his head to the back of the scalp. He had unfocused, deep set, red-rimmed yellow eyes. His skin was pasty white, for it had not seen the sun in two decades.

"Hgggk," Vader wheezed.

The trooper was horrified. He could hardly speak.

"Mother of moons," he whispered. "I'm...I'm sorry, my Lord. I didn't realize..."

Before he could finish, Vader reached his arm out. But not to accept help to get on his feet. The stormtrooper could only let out a quiet _grrk_ as his head was literally turned to face his back by an invisible all powerful force that Solo didn't believe in.

The trooper fell to the ground dead. Vader stood to his full height and looked for his helmet. Finding it, he reached deep into the Force and pulled it to him.

_"Lord, Vader, this is Overseer Aggadeen," _the Imperial called as Vader put his helmet back on. _"Sir, I'm afraid we are...unable to halt the power core's meltdown. Request permission to evacuate the facility."_

"Permission denied, Overseer," Vader said as his helmet made that hiss sound then the whining noise. "If the factory explodes, you had best explode with it. Further failure will be dealt with harshly. The rebel invaders must die."

_"Y-Yes, my Lord."_

Vader noticed some stormtroopers coming in on speeder bikes, the same that the Rebel boy used in his escape. He motioned for the men to follow him, and they obeyed.

"Except the boy. Leave him to me."

Vader turned off his comlink and sent the speeder troopers to search certain perimeters. Then he thought for a moment.

"The boy. Obi-Wan gave him Anakin Skywalker's saber..." Vader pondered. "Wait, if I killed the boy's father...and if Obi-Wan gave him Skywalker's lightsaber..."

By all the star dragons ever spawned, that could mean only one thing. This boy was the offspring of Anakin Skywalker.

Vader had no idea Anakin had been with a woman, but he wasn't surprised. The boy's mother was probably that Padmé Amidala from Naboo. Vader had noticed how bashful Anakin would become every time the Queen-turned-Senator came around him. Vader teased Anakin sometimes about it a few days before the Clone War started.

_"Anakin, have you seen the way she looks at you?" Vader teased, lightly elbowing him._

_"Vader, stop it," Anakin chuckled. Then he looked back at him. "Wait, really?"_

_They both laughed._

A squad of stormtroopers and an officer arrived at Vader's side.

"Lord Vader, unfortunately, the Rebels have escaped," the officer said. "But now we have surveillance photos of-"

Vader completely ignored them as he turned to go back to his star ship.

_MILLENNIUM FALCON_

Luke had finally caught up with Han, Leia, Chewie, the droids and the slaves they managed to rescue. Luke couldn't help but kick himself at going after Vader. He and possibly Ben's spirit knew it was a bad idea. At least he thought it was the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Maybe it was his spirit. Or a hallucination. Luke hoped it was the former. He had heard of spirits even before his encounter with Threepio and Artoo.

Some were ghosts of ancestors and family that watched over you. Some to guide or warn others from danger. There were ghosts that had become vengeful spirits, having been murdered or wronged in life but couldn't move on to the afterlife. Half couldn't find the object of their rage and so their spirits took their fury on innocents, some lethal. Luke had recently met two brothers who called themselves hunters. Along with hunting other Supernatural things, they helped put these ghosts to rest.

Sometimes Luke thought he heard his father's voice. When he attacked the Death Star, he heard a voice that wasn't Ben's to barrel roll when he was being ambushed. Then he heard it say _I'm proud of you, son._

Suddenly, Luke felt something in the Force. He was hardly strong enough to use the Force at a whim, but he had enough experience to _sense_ things. The feeling drew him to a fully grown Torguta female. She like the others were dressed in the clothes of slaves. Yet something told Luke that was much more than a slave in the past.

"Excuse me," Luke said, cautiously approaching. "Do you speak Basic?"

The Torgruta girl looked up. "Yes, I do. How may I help you? Since you helped me."

Luke felt a bit bashful. "I'm no hero. I'm just a Rebel doing his duty. For freedom."

"That's why you're a hero, sir," she said. "It's every citizen's duty to challenge their leaders, to keep them honest, and hold them accountable if they're not. And when the government becomes destructive to the people's welfare, it is their duty to fix it."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "Were you a politician?"

Ashoka scoffed with a smile. "Force no."

Luke opened his eyes more. "Force? Are you..."

"A Jedi?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and smile, as if to be one is to be a mischievious teenager.

"Uh...Yes."

"I was. Once. I'm Ahsoka Tano."

"I...I'm Luke Skywalker."

That name caught here attention. "Skywalker?"

"Yes..."

"You don't a relative that was a Jedi, do you?"

Luke looked down. "Yes. My father was a Jedi before me."

"Anakin Skywalker?"

Luke looked up in amazement. "You knew my father?"

"Yes. I did. I more than knew him...he was my mentor."

Luke's eyes couldn't open any more if he wanted to. "He was your master? I'm sorry. Given what you just escaped..."

"It's okay," Ahsoka assured him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "He was my _Jedi _Master. Unfortunately my training wasn't complete by the time my career was over so he never got to be an official Jedi Master."

"What happened?"

It was Ahsoka's turn to look down with sadness. "I don't want to talk about it. At least not the whole story. But for now, I'll say I was framed for a crime and I was expelled. And this was before the Empire. During the waning years of the Republic."

Luke took this information with shock, awe and curiosity.

"Your father was the only one who believed me," Ahsoka said. "He yelled at the Jedi Masters about my innocence. He almost broke into my cell to talk to me. They wouldn't let him, you see."

Luke nodded in understanding.

"Even after my escape, Master Anakin fought long and hard to prove my innocence. He actually did. He figured out that a close friend of mine, a fellow Jedi apprentice, had fallen to the dark side and blew up the Jedi Temple."

"He blew up the Jedi Temple?"

"_She._ She bombed a hanger and blamed me. Anakin arrested her and cleared me."

"Wait, if you were cleared, why didn't you stay a Jedi?" Luke asked.

"Because...I couldn't trust the council. Anakin was the only one who believed. Everyone else didn't believe me. Even the troops under my command didn't believe me. Everyone but your father thought I was guilty. And if they couldn't trust me, I couldn't trust them. Me leaving actually saved my life. Because you know..."

"The Empire," Luke said with sadness. "I don't mean to pry, but how was it to have my father as a mentor?"

This made Ahsoka smile. "Being Anakin's Padawan was tough but great."

"I'm sorry, what the blazes is a Padawan?"

"That's the Jedi call their apprentices."

"Oh."

"Anakin took me to Dagobah once," Ahsoka said.

"Dagobah?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, a few months before the bombing, Anakin was preparing me to pass the Jedi Trials. To become a Jedi Knight. The first trial he took me to pass was the Testing of the Spirit, also known as Facing the Mirror. I had to face my inner demons. So Master Anakin took me to Dagobah..."

20 YEARS AGO  
DAGOBAH

The stench of the swamp did not bother Ahsoka any more than the the feeling of the cool, slick mud sweeping on her boots. She couldn't move, nor did she have any desire to move. What froze her mentally was the stench of darkness that reeked at her, begging to embrace it. It _called _to her. She wanted to head back to the ship. But the human behind her edged her forward.

"Come on, Snips," Anakin Skywalker encouraged. "It's time."

"Did you hear that, Master?" Ahsoka quietly stammered.

"Yes, Ahsoka," her master answered. "It calls to you."

"What? The tree?"

"Yes. You must enter it...alone."

"Alone?"

"Yes," Anakin nodded, looking at the cave. "Master Obi-Wan made me do the same thing many years ago. Vader will too soon. You must face what's inside by yourself, as I did."

Ahsoka almost took a step back when she heard the growing of something from deep in the tree. It sounded really hungry. "I'm...uh...I'm not so sure about this, Master."

"Control your fear, Ahsoka," Anakin consoled, placing a gentle left-hand on her shoulder. "You are destined to become a great Jedi Knight. And you must be tested."

Ahsoka looked from her mentor and her best friend to the opening. Her turn to pass the trials and become a Jedi Knight was at hand, but her instincts told her to run. Something was in there, ready to swallow her up. Every instinct in her body told her to run.

"What...what's in there?" Ahsoka asked, unsure.

"Only what you take with you," Anakin responded. That didn't really help. He removed his hand from her shoulder and took a step back. He motioned with the prosthetic arm that replaced his right arm after a duel with Count Dooku a couple years ago. "I'll be right here if you need me. But your lightsabers. You won't need them."

Ahsoka did a double take. Well, more like a quadruple take from her master and the darkness that looked ready to consume her. Despite her fear, she slowly put her right foot in front of her left. Then her left foot moved. Then the right. Then the left...and so on.

"You're final test is at hand," Anakin calmly called out as Ahsoka entered the opening. "Trust in the Force."

_"What did you find in there?" Luke asked._

_"Hell."_

Ahsoka slowly stepped forward, carefully moving. One wrong step and she could fall into the Nine Circles of Hell. Or come across her worst nightmare. Her journey was mostly uneventful besides moving things aside and the occasional snapping of a twig.

Ahsoka started to feel better. This wasn't so bad. Master Skywalker got through it. That probably meant Master Kenobi did too. That's when some fog appeared.

Swallowing her fear, she moved forward.

**Review. BTW, why do they call it the Clone Wars (plural), while Yoda and Anakin called it the Clone War (singular)? It was one war, not mulitiple wars involving clones.**


	6. Obi-Wan's Promise

**Warning, when you read this chapter, you might get all misty-eyed and cry.**

Vader pondered to himself as his star ship took him back to his Star Destroyer. Anakin had a child. Vader was surprised but could now see the connection. This boy was an excellent pilot, capable of destroying an entire battle station the size of a small moon. And as Vader himself said in the battle, the Force was strong in him. Not strong enough yet to pose a threat, for he was just an initiate. But still strong in the Force. Anakin Skywalker was a powerful Jedi himself. Anakin was Obi-Wan Kenobi's Padawan before Kenobi took Vader as his next apprentice. Anakin was promoted to Jedi Knight just a few weeks after the Clone War started. Vader was Obi-Wan's student, but he learned a few things from Anakin as well. He saved Vader's life a couple times too.

Only Anakin could've saved Vader's hide, along with Huulik, during the Battle of Sedratis. Vader and the Rodian Jedi Huulik were being swarmed by Vulture droids on Sadratis. Their shields were almost down and Vader's Jedi starfighter had sustained severe damage. The droids were zeroing in on them. Suddenly, Anakin Skywalker came racing in his _Azure Angel II _fighter. He strafed the droids, which scattered. He bought Vader and Huulik enough time to strengthen their shields and the three Jedi won the day.

Vader regretted killing Anakin. It was the only person he regretted killing. Though he justified his actions that he, as a Jedi, had stood in the way of galactic peace, Anakin was one of his close friends. Anakin was one of the few friends that stood up for Vader when some arrogant Padawans would pick on him.

Vader both admired Anakin and envied him. Anakin displayed a much stronger connection to the Force. Through long practice, Anakin had achieved almost unparalleled prowess in lightsaber combat. Only people like Masters Yoda, Windu, Kenobi and Vader were considered his equals.

Why didn't Anakin accept his offer?

MILLENNIUM FALCON

Luke Skywalker was fixing up C-3PO. As he was putting the droid's head back on the torso, his vision turned white. That ringing in people's ears that was annoying as hell started buzzing in Luke's ears...loudly. Eventually, the white light and the noise was too much for him. The tool dropped to the floor with a bang and Luke placed his hands on his ears, trying to block out all the commotion but to no good. Images forced its way into his mind.

19 YEARS AGO  
JEDI TEMPLE  
ROOM OF A THOUSAND FOUNTAINS  
CORUSCANT (OPERATION: KNIGHTFALL)

Vader raised his blade to strike down Shaak Ti. Despite her strength, within minutes she was on the floor bleeding and exhausted. He swung the blade down, only to strike air. She hadn't moved, it was he who had moved. Before he could end the life of the last of the Jedi Council, Vader found himself flying through room, slamming against the wall.

"Vader, I'm home," Anakin said in a sing-song voice, lowering his hand. Vader raised himself up and started walking towards Anakin, but stopped when Anakin raised his blade at him. "I don't think so."

Anakin moved towards Shaak Ti, helped her up, and called a couple of Padawans. "Padawans, get her out of here. Get off Coruscant."

"But Master Sky-" a male said.

"This isn't a debate," Anakin said. "Now go."

"Over one Jedi," Vader sneered as the three Jedi left. "Anakin, really. I mean, I knew you're a loyal man, but I hope you've realized the truth about the Jedi."

"Vader," Anakin sighed. "You're like my brother, and I love you...but you are one great big bag of sleemos."

"What did you just say to me?" Vader demanded, taking a step before Anakin raised his blade again.

"What happened to you?" Anakin demanded. "What could possibly justify you turning against _everything_ you believe in? Or _believed_ in. How could you murder so many innocent Jedi? Younglings!"

"Among the children of the Jedi, there are no innocents." Vader smirked. "The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. You should know Anakin. Remember what you told me about your mother, and the Sand People? Then Dooku?"

Anakin looked to the floor in shame. In the the three years since his mother's death, Anakin had convinced himself that he had temporarily lost his mind that night at the Tusken camp. It remained his darkest secret, something he'd never even told Obi-Wan because he knew he would be banished from the Jedi Order, and yet he'd felt compelled to take both Palpatine and Vader into his confidence, though he only told Palpatine the basics. He told Vader _everything_. Every detail. Every murder. Every slash. Every use of the Force. Anakin grimaced at the memory of the slaughtered Tuskens. At times, like right then, Anakin could still hear their screams. The desire to kill them had been beyond his control. Killing Dooku wasn't the same. He knew it was wrong, but he did it anyway.

Anakin looked back at his former friend. The man who could have been his brother. Anakin and Vader knew more about each other than Vader and Obi-Wan knew about each other.

_Help me, Obi-Wan_, Anakin sent out.

"I don't understand," Vader said. "Why you're fighting me...of all the Jedi."

"You really have to ask?"

"We both see the errors of the Jedi Code. You're the Chosen One as well! Almost of all the Jedi Order is jealous of your power. After this, the Order will want me dead. And if they succeed in killing me, guess what..._You're _their new public enemy number one."

"You're wrong. The Jedi would never betray me. And I will never betray the Jedi Order."

"Come, come now, Anakin," Vader said. "Why must we fight? Imagine it. Power beyond anything you could imagine. Join me. Join the dark side. With our combined strength, we can end the corruption in the Senate and end the Clone War. We can end the destructive conflicts and bring order and peace to the galaxy! We can destroy the Emperor. Surely, he has foreseen it. It is our destiny! Together, we are more powerful Palpatine. We can overthrow him! And together, you and I can rule the galaxy as brothers! Make the galaxy a better place to live in. Make things the way we want them to be!"

Anakin shook his head. "I don't know you anymore. You're not the Kie Vader I knew. I'm sorry, I'll never join you. I'm loyal."

"To who?" Vader asked, indicating the Council. "This so-called Council? This so-called Order?"

"To the people, Vader," Anakin answered. "The people of the Republic."

"So you willing to _die _for a pile of weak cockroaches, why?"

"Because Master Yoda was right," Anakin replied. "They _are _better than us."

"They are corrupt, broken, _flawed_ abortions!" Vader immediately snapped.

"Blasted right they're flawed," Anakin agreed, smiling. "But a lot of them try. To do better. To forgive...and you should see Naboo. I've been a Jedi a long time. But I'm aware of the will of the Force now. And I'm not on your side or the Jedi's. I'm on the Republic's side."

Anakin looked at the young former Jedi with a buzz cut.

"Brother, don't make me do this," Vader said, hints of sorrow in his voice, turning his back on his friend.

"No one makes us do anything, Kie," Anakin said, referring to him by his given name.

"Then why do we have to do this?" Vader asked, not understanding this.

"Oh, you know why," Anakin said, not falling for it. "After what you did, I have no choice but to stop you."

"What I did?" Vader said, turned back to his friend. "What if it's not my fault?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Think about it," Vader pleaded. "The Force made everything. Which means, it made me who I am. The Force wanted me to do this."

"That's not true," Anakin said sternly. "And even if it was, so what?"

"So why? And why make us fight? I just can't figure out the point of this."

"What's _your _point?" Anakin asked.

"We're going to kill each other," Vader asked. "And for what? Differences in ideology? A test by the Force? And we don't even know the blasted answer...We're brothers...just walk away. Live in peace. Find a girl to settle down with...Or join me."

"I'm sorry, I can't do that," Anakin said after contemplating his offer. "I'm a good Jedi. And I have my duty."

"You don't have to follow orders anymore," Vader replied.

"Sorry, but I'm not like you. You're always blaming everyone but yourself. Please, Vader, come back to the light. Face up to what you've done. I can help you."

"It's too late for that, you're too late," Vader again turning his back. "You only want to help yourself!"

"Kie, you know that's not true!" Anakin pleaded. "If...if you won't turn back from the dark side...then you give me no choice but to stop you."

"If that's the way it's gotta be..." Vader closed his eyes, taking a deep death. "Then I'd like to see you try."

They both ignited their lightsabers, both blue because Vader didn't have the time to change to scarlet red of the Sith. Vader turned and saluted his former friend. Anakin returned the salute. They circled each other for a moment. They stood there, almost motionless, examining the other's defensive pose and considering the other's strengths and weakness. Then...Vader charged.

Anakin swept his lightsaber into his hand and blocked the first of a serious of rapid-fire blows. Vader had been working on his skills for a long time, it seemed, judging by the skill he displayed. Like Anakin's, Vader's combat style ranged from the aggressive Jedi style Shien to the more advanced form of Djem So with occasional flashes of rage that pushed the combat beyond offensive barrage to outright, fury-fueled Juyo.

Vader danced with feet and blade, admiring the defensive and offensive techniques of his opponent and prolonging the duel to see where it might lead.

Even as he thought that, Anakin surprised him. Ducking under a particular rash stroke, Anakin rolled as expected but came up empty handed. The newly anointed Sith apprentice looked for the lightsaber and saw it barely in time to avoid dismemberment. Anakin used a telekinetically push that sent the hilt of the lightsaber spinning across the room and back again, a move Vader didn't know Anakin used. Vader's block stopped the blade form slashing his throat, but in ricocheting it scored a gash down his arm. The light wound sent a neural shock through his system. He laughed, not just at the sudden rush of adrenaline and endorphins.

"Well done, Anakin," Vader said. "You almost had me there. You're just as powerful as I imagined. But not that powerful."

Anakin didn't break his focus as he fell back under a flurry of retaliatory blows. Vader turned his rage into power, strength and even...excitement. It regretted fighting his best friend, but the fight was a huge thrill. He felt unbeatable. No, he was...Indestructible!

Revitalized by the reminder that even their old sparring duels could've been deadly, Vader drove Anakin into a corner and rammed the tip of his blade through Anakin's chest. The blade of the Sith Lord's still blue lightsaber caught directly in the breastbone, its brilliant length burning through clothing and flesh and bone.

Anakin didn't scream, but he cringed. The lightsaber fell from his hand, clattering to the floor, the blue blade winking out for what would probably be the last time in years.

Anakin thought he heard himself scream, then he realized it was Ahsoka through the Force, calling his friend's name in despair, having felt his pain through the Force somewhere out in the galaxy. Vader leaned in close.

"Anakin...Forgive me," Vader whispered, tears threatening to run down his face.

Anakin grabbed Vader's left shoulder with his right hand and pulled Vader closer to whisper in his ear. "Those who betray others...betray only themselves."

Vader understood this as he pulled the lightsaber away.

Anakin made no sound as the blade was withdrawn from his chest. Falling to his knees, he stood motionless for an instant, fighting against the shock of the killing blow. Then his eyes clouded, his arms lowered, and a great weariness settled over his proud young features. He slumped forward and lied motionless.

Vader stared at the body before him, feelings of unimaginable guilt and sorrow overtaking his mind. He knelt down and desperately shook Anakin, praying that he'd respond. Vader berated himself for what he had just done. He was gone and there was nothing he could do about it.

He just killed his brother. The one man he felt was a brother to him.

However, his feelings of sorrow soon turned to anger and jealousy. Vader decided that Anakin had brought this upon himself. Anakin didn't have to be so blindly obedient to prove a point. The Jedi didn't have to deny him what he desired. They were arrogant and therefore deserved no more pity. To Vader, the Jedi Masters were to blame for Anakin's death. _They_ had denied him knighthood, when he was himself their equal. No. Their _superior._ Hate gave way to rage. And rage gave way to vengeance. Vader knew he would make them pay for denying him what was his. He was following the path of power that the masters could only dream of. Vader knew of the dark side and the ancient Sith Lords that had roamed the galaxy before him. He _was _the dark side.

Vader reassured himself. Anakin was also too stubborn to see through the lies of the Jedi. He did not see the dark side as Vader did. Anakin could not see that it was the Jedi and their stagnant old ways that stood in the way of peace. Vader, empowered by the dark side, would restore peace and justice to the galaxy. It was for the good of the Empire. For the galaxy. Pulling his hood back over his buzz-cut hair, he went out to continue his mission.

HOURS LATER...

After having dealt with the 501st squads guarding the Temple, Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi walked in. They were there to dismantle a coded signal beacon that was telling all the Jedi to return to the Jedi Temple because apparently the war was over. It was obviously a trap to lure the surviving Jedi to their deaths.

"I can only hope we're not too late," Obi-Wan admitted as they walked inside the Temple. "I don't wish to be the last of the Jedi."

"To the very summit of the Temple, we must go," Yoda said. "There shall we find the beacon, and end this deception."

"Master...I fear for Anakin and Vader."

"Mmmm," Yoda grunted in agreement. "Clouded are their fates. Concerned for them, I am. Quickly, young Obi-Wan."

Encountering clone troopers, shock troopers, snipers and assassins, Obi-Wan and Yoda made their way to the beacon. While Yoda meditated, Obi-Wan re-engineered the beacon.

"I've recalibrated the code, warning all surviving Jedi to stay away," Obi-Wan reported.

"For the clones, to discover the recalibration, a long time it will take," Yoda said with satisfaction. The two Jedi walked into the security recording room.

"Wait, Master. There is something I must know." Obi-Wan walked over to the security hologram projector.

"If into the security recordings, you go, only pain, will you find," Yoda warned.

Obi-Wan flipped a switch. "I _must _know the truth, Master."

He fast forwarded to the attack. Cin Drallig and Padawans Bene and Whie Malreaux were in the Room of A Thousand Fountains. Suddenly, a robed figure came in, lightsaber ignited. Obi-Wan flinched in horror as the figure struck down Whie then knocked Bene's lightsaber out of her hands. The figure grabbed Bene by the neck with his left hand. That's when Cin Drallig began to attack him. The figure turned to face Drallig, revealing his face to Obi-Wan.

"It can't be," Obi-Wan said in horror, unable to say anything else. His eyes had nearly launched themselves out of their sockets. "It _can't_ be!"

Kie Vader managed to score a direct hit on Drallig's shoulder. Obi-Wan flinched again as he heard Bene's neck vertebrae snap. She fell to the floor dead. It cut to a duel with Shaak Ti in the same room. Eventually Ti was beat. Vader tried to finish her, but someone Force pushed him back.

It was Anakin!

Anakin got Shaak Ti and two other Padawans to escape while he talked to Vader. Then the fight happened. But static interrupted and the recording skipped to Vader kneeling to the Emperor.

_"You have done well, Lord Vader," _the recording of the Emperor said, motioning his kneeling apprentice to rise. _"Now, go and bring peace to the Empire."_

Obi-Wan immediately turned it off. "I can't watch any more."

"Destroy the Sith, _we must_," Yoda declared, tapping his stick.

"Send me to kill the Emperor. I will not kill Kie."

"To fight this Lord Sidious, strong enough, you are not," Yoda pointed out.

"But Kie..." Obi-Wan shook his head. "He is like my brother. Just as Anakin is. I cannot do it."

"Twisted by the dark side, your young Padawan has become. The boy you trained, gone, he is. _Consumed_ by Darth Vader."

"I do not know where the Emperor has sent him. I don't know where to look."

"Use your feelings, Obi-Wan, and find him, you will."

Before Obi-Wan could express anything else, a shiver went up his spine. A feeling. A disturbance. He felt pain and fading life. It was nearby. Somebody else in the Temple was alive. And it wasn't a clone or Vader.

"Master..." Obi-Wan whispered.

"Sense it as well, I do."

Yoda accepted Obi-Wan's hand and climbed on his back. Obi-Wan sprinted to the Room of A Thousand Fountains. Kicking in a door, Obi-Wan's heart dropped to his stomach as he spotted a moving figure trying to sit up. Obi-Wan recognized his former Padawan and best friend.

"Anakin!"

Yoda climbed down to the floor as Obi-Wan knelt on his knees to cradle Anakin in his arms.

"No, I'm afraid...it is too late for me, my friends."

"No, please!"

"Masters," Anakin whispered. "It was Vader...Vader...He..." Anakin coughed blood. "He has betrayed us..."

"We know."

"He is heading to Mustafar system. You...must...go there...Obi-Wan...Padmé is with child. My child...Can you hear me...Master?"

"Yes, Anakin," Obi-Wan said as he wiped the blood off Anakin's lip. "I can hear you."

"Obi-Wan...promise me...you must train my child," Anakin said. He took his lightsaber and handed it to Obi-Wan. "Give 'em my lightsaber. Obi-Wan, promise me, you'll train my child. Promise me."

Obi-Wan, desperately trying to hold back tears, nodded. "I promise, Anakin. I will train 'em. I will train 'em."

Anakin smiled with a sigh. A tear went down his cheek. Anakin raised his left hand. Obi-Wan immediately took the hand in his own.

"Obi-Wan, Yoda," Anakin said, still smiling. "It was a honor to be a Jedi. Thank you. It was a honor to serve the Republic by your sides."

Yoda knelt beside him, placing a three fingered hand on the dying Jedi's shoulder. "The honor was ours. Embrace the Force. Go now, young Anakin. With the Force, become one. Remember, luminous beings are we, not this crude matter."

Anakin chuckled. "Do not mourn me, masters. Do not miss me. But remember me and honor my memory."

Obi-Wan and Yoda nodded and Anakin returned the nod.

"The Force will be with you...always," Anakin said, in almost a whisper. "As I will always be with you."

He squeezed Obi-Wan's hand. Then his head began to lay back. Anakin went still, and Obi-Wan watched the light leave his eyes. The flesh hand loosened it's grip on Obi-Wan's hand. Obi-Wan could hardly draw his breath. Eyes half closed with his disbelief, he lifted Anakin to his chest and held him there for a long time. He couldn't be gone! He just couldn't! He pulled Anakin back, staring into his eyes, silently pleading with him to answer. Obi-Wan held him close, rocking him as he sobbed.

Then Obi-Wan laid Anakin Skywalker back to the floor and gently closed his eyes.

Yoda closed his eyes, in mourning, despite Anakin's words. Over 800 years, Yoda had lost many friends to both old age and murder, but this was worse. Criminals killing Jedi was one thing, but being betrayed by both the Republic they had sworn to serve and by another Jedi was something else. This was the worst betrayal of all.

Obi-Wan couldn't take anymore. First Qui-Gon, all the Jedi that died in the war and recently. Now Anakin was dead. Killed by his Padawan.

They both felt Anakin's spirit surround them as his body became one with the Force, his clothes gently falling to the floor. Obi-Wan, his sobbing starting to cease but tears still spilling, picked up his best friend's clothes and they both left the Temple.

MILLENNIUM FALCON

Tears were spilling from Luke's eyes. The horror he saw finally broke him.

"NOOOOOOOO!" he screamed.

**Review. Ahsoka's vision in the cave will be done in the next chapter.**


	7. I Am Machine

**To address the issue of the Canon/Legends situation, I will be liberally including Legends material, but most Force powers and stormtrooper variants and small things. Boy didn't that Canon thing completely change everything?**

DAGOBAH  
20 YEARS AGO

Cautiously, Ahsoka stepped forward in the cave. So far, so good. Despite the disturbing noises she still heard, everything else was calm. Nothing had jumped out at her. No Separatist was lying in wait for her. A fog filled the cave. Ahsoka moved forward a bit, waving her hand to clear the fog a few times. Suddenly, the fog started to rush around her like a large tornado.

She covered her ears, trying to block the many noises that assaulted her. Images forced themselves into her mind.

A young man appeared before her. He was dressed in Jedi clothes similar to Anakin's, and a cloak with the hood raised. Ahsoka watched as the man cut down many droids with his blue lightsaber and Force abilities on many worlds, side by side to a Jedi master and another Jedi Knight, both of whom looked familiar to Ahsoka. Many people came to embrace the three Jedi warriors as heroes. The younger warrior accepted this praise more than the other two humble Jedi.

The young man saw horrible atrocities being committed by the Separatists. The horror this man saw transformed his sadness into rage.

Suddenly, something happened to the young man. Ahsoka didn't know what it was, but something happened. She could feel something happened to him. She felt him emote feelings of betrayal. Rage. Sadness. Confusion...Anger.

Hate.

A black cloaked figure approached the young man. Ahsoka couldn't hear what the dark figure was saying, but she could see that the young man was intrigued by what the evil figure was saying. A minute later, the young man was kneeling to the cloaked figure. Ahsoka closed her eyes in mourning the young man's decision to join the dark side.

Her sadness turned to shock and horror as the young Dark Jedi began to carve his way through multiple Jedi. The former Jedi showed no mercy as he killed one Jedi after another. Ahsoka ran forward to stop him, igniting her lightsabers. She raised her blades before realizing that despite the fact her legs had moved on their own accord, she had remained where she stood. She could only stand and helplessly watch as her comrades were murdered one by one by their former comrade. Even the younglings weren't spared. Tears and cries of sorrow erupted from Ahsoka as her heart broke into pieces.

Suddenly, a young Jedi appeared and locked himself in epic battle with the murderer. They fought long and hard. They traded slashes and blows. The young murderer slashed at his opponent, who fell. Another man came behind him and slashed the murderer in the face. The dark sider took off his hood, revealing a black masked behemoth with red-black eye lenses. A horrible breathing filled the air as she heard Anakin scream her name in tremendous pain.

_AHHSSOOOKAAAAAAAA!_

Ahsoka shrieked as she clawed at her face, forcing the images away before falling to the ground. She lay on the ground shivering, scared to move. She felt that if she opened her eyes, she'd relive that horror. She peaked one eye open, then the open. She was back in the cave and the fog had faded. She was alone. Slowly but surely, Ahsoka got up. She didn't know where she was in the cave. She simply walked forward until an opening appeared to her eyes. She walked forward, went through the opening to find Anakin waiting for her.

"You've done well, Ahsoka," Anakin praised.

"Master, I saw...I saw..."

Anakin raised a hand for her to stop. "No. Ahsoka, what you saw is between you and the Force."

"Really?"

"Ahsoka, a Padawan and Master usually share everything," Anakin counseled. "But at rare times, situations like this it's best that the Padawan deal with what happened themselves. That's your next unofficial test. Independent thinking."

"Oh," Ahsoka said. She pondered, looking back at the cave. "What should I do with I saw?"

Anakin smiled while looking at his boots. He looked back up at his apprentice. "In this case, I can't tell you what you should do."

"What would you do, Master?"

Anakin pondered, thinking about it long and hard. "Well, if I any advice in what you saw...you must follow it."

Ahsoka sighed, then nodded in agreement. She would follow what she saw. To the ends of the galaxy if she had too. It was possible that the vision was actually just a hallucination. But Anakin had told her about the visions he had of his mother. How he saw her die in his dreams...and then again in his arms in real life.

"You ready to leave?" Anakin asked. Ahsoka nodded. He opened up his comlink on his left arm gauntlet. "Rex, come pick us up."

_"On our way, General."_

Anakin noticed that Ahsoka was still in deep thought, more confused than certain. He came over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Take heart little one," he said after she looked up at him. "What I saw in there was...disturbing. But it showed me I had purpose."

"I won't ask what you saw, Master," Ahsoka said.

"That's probably for the best," Anakin said, nodding his confirmation.

_EXECUTOR_

Vader contemplated telling his master about the discovery of the son of Skywalker. Certainly, the boy, despite his lack of formal training, could pose a threat to both the Sith and the Empire. Vader was not concerned with the boy's skills as a warrior, mostly because of how poor it was. He was most concerned with what the boy represented. Or perhaps, what the Imperial lackeys allowed him to represent by failing to stop him.

Hope.

Ever since some rebel activities on Lothal five years ago devastated Imperial garrisons, there had been whispers about alleged Jedi having survived Order 66 and were taking up arms against the Empire. Such whispers, in time if left unchecked, would spark belief in something other the strength and security of the Empire. And that was something he and his master could not have infecting the Empire.

Killing Aggadeen would send a lasting impression through the military. From then on, failure would have consequences.

Vader had realized something about himself. Long ago, within the last 19 years, Vader accepted a daring revelation about himself. It was something he couldn't change.

_I am machine. I never sleep. I keep my eyes wide open. I am machine. A part of me wishes I could just feel something._

He was machine. Both literally and metaphorically.

Literally, he was covered from head to toe with cybernetics. He could not breath or eat properly. His mask's breathing kept him from sleeping. And when sleep did come to him, Vader's sleep was a nightmarish jumble of twisted, recurrent memories that unfolded to excruciating mental and emotional pain.

Metaphorically, he had forced him to suppress much of his emotions except his anger and hate. Simply and only using those two emotions to fuel his power, Vader acted, fought and killed without emotion. While on Mustafar as he slaughtered the Separatists, Vader did not say a word. He simply cut everyone down without any emotion or explanation.

However, that didn't mean he was completely emotionless when not in combat or when calm. While he had convinced himself that all he had done was for the benefit of the Republic and the galaxy as a whole, he was still guilt-ridden for his actions, shedding tears of remorse as he watched the lava river after the Separatist massacre. Despite his full immersion in the dark side and he had always found ways to justify his actions, at times Vader did feel guilt for his actions. Sidious might have taken Vader out of the Jedi, but he couldn't take the Jedi out of Vader.

With proper training, this boy could grow to become as the best challenger Vader had faced in years. Vader mused that while the boy still had much to learn, he had inherited much from Anakin, if he was indeed his father.

In combat, Vader considered all possibilities and tactics and the strengths and weaknesses of his Force wielding opponent and the strengths and weaknesses of himself.

Vader's time during the war would develop him into a hardened warrior with increased endurance, able to maintain fights for several minutes. He also attained a great level of speed, often leaping toward his opponents in fights. He would also often use Force augmentation to enhance his already astounding strength and speed, becoming a blur of motion to most that watched him fight.

Vader was highly resistant to pain, clinging to life even after experiencing fourth-degree burns to the bone. Of his time, he was one of the most athletic and pain-resistant Sith of his era and the era of his past.

That had changed after Mustafar. Though he no longer had any living limbs and was supported by a cybernetic suit, it didn't deter him. On many occasions after his transformation, Vader had taken direct hits to his suit and was still able to maintain his composure during a fight.

At first, Vader was very clumsy and stiff in his new suit. It was a drawing change for him initially. However, over a short few months of retraining, he was able to find comfort in his suit and utilize it to his advantage. Before his suit, Vader's Force rage already afforded him strength and dexterity. Though his dexterity and agility would diminish, his suit forced him to rely on skill than raw abilities.

However, his suit was a huge handicap. His main control panel was exposed on the chest, which he spent most of his time defending in a duel. Also, he could not survive very long without his helmet, which supported his breathing. Still, Vader maintained to be a power house and was never a push over.

Darth Vader was extremely strong in the Force, able to Force jump great distances and deflect others' Force maneuvers. He also had an extremely advanced skill with Force choke, even while he was still a Jedi. During his raid on the Jedi Temple, Vader even managed to electrocute a few Jedi with Force lightning, although only briefly. He also held a great aptitude for the special sixth sense of the Force, both large and minute. His sense would help him astute to immediate action. It helped him having visions a couple of times. Though Vader was arrogant and lacked variety in his Force abilities, he had one of the largest raw ability in the Force.

In his suit, it was Vader's limitations which led him to gain more skill in the Force, though his raw ability had dissipated. Behind Sidious and Anakin Skywalker, Vader still had one of the most Force potential in living beings, though being only twice as powerful as Darth Sidious. If he hadn't lost to Kenobi, he would've been twice as powerful as Sidious.

Even without Vader's full potential at hand, he had an arsenal at his disposal and knew how to make it work effectively. Vader was an advanced user of telekinesis, being able to pummel his opponent with debris and large objects without having to move a muscle. His time as a Jedi allowed him to hone the Force Throw skill, allowing him to throw a lightsaber with sniper precision. Though he had used Force choke during his time as a Jedi in extreme anger, after becoming the Dark Lord of the Sith, Vader had become an advanced user of strangling victims. He was able to apply this torture to those not even in the room. Vader had once choked a admiral on a star ship who failed while Vader himself was on a planet. His Force Grip allowed him to crush his opponents and victims' internal organs, such as when in a furious fit of outrage, he crushed a Skakoan on Nevlaan, to Obi-Wan's horror.

Vader also was an advanced user of Tutaminis, allowing the Sith Lord to absorb high concentrations of energy, including blaster bolts, lightning and even lightsaber blades. While Vader was unable to summon lightning, he was able to deflect it. He was able to use telepathy, able to communicate directly to another's mind, even able to place fears and doubt in others. He was able to use Force cloak to great effect, hiding his Force signature to others.

Though he did use the Force to augment his physical attributes, it did not have the same effect as it did before his suit. He was mostly supported by his cybernetics in regard to his natural ability, whereas his suit gave him superhuman strength.

Unlike most Sith, Vader could not summon and attack with Force lightning. This was because of the extensive presence of cybernetic augmentations in his body as well as the presence of the electronic life-support system in his suit. Any attempt by Vader to generate Force lightning carried the great risk of causing these systems to short-circuit, possibly ending his life.

Before his suit, Vader was close to reach his full potential but his rage, arrogance and over confidence blinded him. Vader couldn't reach his full potential now because of the suit. One could also consider that while Vader had justified his actions, he still felt guilt about killing Anakin, and guilt can at times hold someone back, such as the author to this story.

As a Jedi, Vader had a raw power that was ballistic and untrained. As a Sith, he could control that raw emotion and employ it with more grace. As a young Sith, his arrogance would leave him with a rudimentary application of Force powers, though his applications were powerful. After his suit, Vader's humility would leave him with a varied skill set, yet his Force powers were ultimately weaker.

Lightsaber combat quickly became Vader's favorite activity, even in spite of his studies of the Force under Obi-Wan Kenobi.

_"Cajar, you must not exclusive focus on your skill with a blade," Obi-Wan once told him. "Even without a lightsaber, a Jedi is never defenseless as long as he has the power of the Force on his side. But if you ignore the Force, it will not help you."_

_"Yes, master."_

Under Kenobi, he would dabble in Soresu, the all defensive form and Ataru, the high energy acrobatic form. However, his preference would be in the fifth form of lightsaber combat, Shien and Djem So. Vader advanced his skills quickly with these forms and they enabled him to draw from his mounting strength and over confidence. Form V was geared towards an offensive onslaught, stemming from a counter defense. Form V users would often turn their blocks and parries into instant counter attacks and strikes. Vader would constantly parry, block and deflect than immediately counter attack with powerful blows.

During his training, he would also experiment in Form VI: Niman, involving dual blade fighting, though his practice was more an exercise for control. His defeat by Dooku in a battle on Naboo during the war would propel him to refine his use of Form V. This new found confidence and refinement granted him a strength that served him well throughout the Clone War against Asajj Ventress and Count Dooku. During the duel on Mustafar, Obi-Wan Kenobi realized that Vader had become the most refined and masterful user of Djem So, as he used his brute strength to break through his opponent's weak defense.

Now, Vader was feared as a extrodinary duelist, killing dozens of Jedi in the Great Jedi Purge. Initially, Vader was a Djem So master, though almost exclusively. After being encased in his suit, Vader looked into other lightsaber forms. Djem So still suited him well, as the lack of mobility his suit allowed did not hinder his strong kinetic strikes. In fact, his suit enabled him to make even stronger strikes than before.

Though he handled Soresu and Ataru in his previous style, as half a machine he added Makashi and Juyo. Though Ataru was known for its acrobatics, Vader adapted only its blade work to his style and he used Soresu as a way to protect his suit from letahl strikes. He added Makashi because of how well Dooku used it against him in their many duels together.

Makashi was a pure lightsaber form, which had a style akin to that of fencing. Vader had a special use of it at the beginning of the Galactic Empire, as he engaged in many lightsaber battles. The Juyo form enabled to tap into his new found rage and unleash a barrage of lightsaber strikes at his opponents. Like most experienced lightsaber duelists, Vader implemented all forms of lightsaber combat, becoming one of the most well rounded duelists ever.

Vader was a power house in terms of offense and unmovable stone in his defense. Each of his strikes were aimed for a killing blow unless he wanted his opponent taken alive. This made fighting the Sith Lord extremely daunting. In the few times Vader had to go on the defense, he locked his elbows close, blocking with an economy of few motions and movable.

The circle was now complete. When Vader slaughtered the Separatists, he was still but the learner. But now, he was the master. Windu couldn't stop him. Kenobi wouldn't kill him on Mustafar out pathetically weak compassion and Vader took his revenge. Cin Drallig, a battle master, couldn't best him. Sidious couldn't break his spirit. This boy, whoever he was, couldn't even pose a threat to him.

He was the _Master_.

But he saw potential in the boy. If Anakin Skywalker was the strongest warrior Vader had faced, then his son could potentially be his apprentice.

Sidious appeared on the hologram. Vader knelt on one knee and bowed his masked head.

"What is thy bidding, my master?"

**Review.**


	8. It is I

**I have to say this. Donald Trump is a narcissistic bigoted prick and he better not get elected.**

Luke Skywalker took a deep breath. He did as Ben once told him a few days after his confrontation with Vader.

"Focus on the Force," Luke told himself, taking a deep breath. "You will know what to do when you are at peace."

At times, Luke would've bet credits that he heard Ben's voice. Though he only told Nakari Kelen that. And that was he because he trusted her, along with having some feelings for her before she died in that terrible explosion. If he'd told anyone else, they've just thrown a straight jacket on him and put him in a psychiatric hospital just to pump him full of sedative drugs to shut him up. And yet sometimes, he could swear he could hear his father's voice as well, at least twice at the Battle of Yavin and a couple times after that. Luke remembered those five words that his father told him after the Death Star had been destroyed.

_"I'm proud of you, son."_

Luke knew that was his father's voice. The voice sounded younger than Ben's. While Uncle Owen had lied about what Anakin Skywalker had done in his life, he did occasionally tell the truth. Such as he when he said that Anakin had died shortly before Luke was born and his mother died in childbirth. While she loved her son, Padmé Amidala had lost the will to live without Anakin. Anakin never got to meet his son. Along with his father's murder, which led to his mother dying of a broken heart after giving birth to him, that's what angered Luke the most. Vader may not have directly killed his mother, but murdering Anakin led to his mother's death. From a certain point of view, Vader did murder his mother, albeit indirectly. Vader murdered both his parents. Two loving parents he would never meet, thanks to him. Anger surged in the young boy. Luke swore to himself, the Force, his parents, Ben, the Jedi that Vader had killed and the galaxy that he and the Emperor had victimized, that Vader would pay for his sins.

Luke loved the parents he never met, because he loved his family. And despite the fact that he and Uncle Ben constantly butted heads, he loved him and Aunt Beru. And Ben Kenobi was the father figure he wanted and a true mentor. He loved him as his best friend. So naturally he challenged their murderer to a duel on Cymoon. He failed. That was because he had confronted Vader recklessly and without proper training. Luke had survived the confrontation. But he left with knowing that he failed to stop Vader. But he dedicate his free time to study of lightsaber combat and the Force, so that the next time he confronted the Sith Lord, he would not fail. He would ignite his lightsaber, walk up to him and say a phrase he made himself.

"Hello. My name is Luke Skywalker. You killed my father. Prepare to die," Luke said to himself as he raised his blade, his eyes covered by the helmet. The remote went on the attack. Luke instinctively brought the blade to block the bolt. Another and another bolt shot. Luke deflected the first but the second hit him in the leg, his foot going numb. Luke cursed as he brought his blade up to deflect a fourth bolt.

Luke did well against the remote, though he did get hit once or twice. When he was done, many parts of his body was numb. Thankfully it wasn't anywhere south besides his legs. Deactivating his father's ancient weapon, Luke sat down and wiped his heavily sweating forehead.

NETHERWORLD OF THE WORLD

In the netherworld of the Force, a place some call Heaven, the spirits of the Jedi discovered that there was a God of the universe. The Force was simply of a manifestation's of God's will. This god, simply called God, sometimes Yahweh or Heavenly Father or Lord, had created the universe, the galaxies, the worlds and the Force in six days and rested on the seventh day. God had a son named Jesus Christ, who He used a vessel when he came down to a planet in the Milky Way galaxy to preach His word. Christ was accused of heresy by the government of the empire he lived in and was crucifixed. The religion of Christ, Christianity, preached that Christ died for everyone's sins and achieved salvation for all.

The spirits of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and other Jedi past were surprised at this revelation, but Anakin and Obi-Wan weren't somewhat not surprised. When they lived, the two Jedi had suspected that something existed beyond the Force. Yes, the Force was an energy field and a power base created by all living things, but how was the Force created, those two had asked. Now, they had their answer.

The two were watching Luke Skywalker as he practiced his lightsaber skills with the remote. Anakin smiled.

"He still has much to learn," he chuckled.

"Yes, but he is a fast learner."

"That he is," Anakin laughed. He looked over at Leia, who watched Luke. Anakin was amazed at how Leia had Padmé_'_s spirit and beauty and how Luke had his strength in Force and his eyes and good looks.

"Leia reminds me of her mother," Anakin said.

"Well, she does have her eyes, hair and her career in politics," Obi-Wan agreed, then sighed. "I sense much anger in him."

"Yes, I sense it too. His family and now his mentor is dead..." Anakin pondered. "Do you think it's time to send him to Master Yoda?"

Obi-Wan shook his gray-haired head. "No, not yet. Not until the time is right."

"Well, it needs to happen soon. As I said months ago, he cannot hide from his destiny forever."

Obi-Wan put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Patience, Anakin. Luke is coming closer destiny closer than you think."

"I sure hope so...If you'll excuse me." Anakin disappeared before Obi-Wan could inquire.

Obi-Wan shook his head. "I _hate it_ when he does that."

_EXECUTOR_  
MEDITATION CHAMBER

Vader had just consulted with the Emperor on how to deal with the rebels. The sound of his sterilized, mechanical breathing filled the room. He had rosen to stand at full height when he sensed something. A presence. A presence he hadn't feel since...

_Kie Vader, _a voice said.

Vader turned his head suddenly. A voice had spoke the name of his weak, former self. But who was it? Vader's right hand lingered above his lightsaber.

_My old friend. It is I...Anakin Skywalker._

The spiritual apparition of Anakin Skywalker appeared before Vader. Vader took a step back. The faint blue coloring and insubstantial appearance gave himself away. Vader recognized Anakin's long hair that reached his shoulder, his cocky raised-eyebrow, and the scar over his eye.

Vader tried to probe this apparition, reaching out through the dark side of the Force. But Vader fought nothing but light. Hate washed through Vader's veins. How could this be? This couldn't be a clone. No one could clone Jedi. It had never been done. Not successfully.

_You don't remember me?_

_How is this possible?_ Vader thought. "I killed you myself. How is this possible?"

_With the Force, anything is possible, Vader. I am part of the Living Force._

"You should not have come back here, Anakin," Vader hissed.

_You have grown strong and powerful, _Anakin said, ignoring the threat. _Just as Obi-Wan imagined..._

"Why are you here?" Vader demanded. "Shouldn't you be _one _with the Force, as you Jedi kept talking about?"

Anakin smiled, looking down bashfully. _I suppose I should be. But I'm here to tell you that I believe you will confront your inner demons and do the right thing._

"What?" Vader spat. This was getting ridiculous. "What are you talking about?"

_Despite what you and the Emperor may believe or say, there is still good in you. The Vader I knew isn't dead. You will experience a moment to do the right thing..._

"I anticipate that moment," Vader said. "I will wave at it as it passes by."

Anakin laughed as he crossed his arms, Jedi style. _You were the funniest Jedi I had ever met...Vader, you can't change the will of the Force. Sure, you may be able to twist and bend it, but ultimately, the Force executes its will one way or another._

"What do you mean?"

_Yes, you will destroy the Emperor. I have seen it._

Vader did not speak and his mask hid his face, but emotions betrayed him.

_But not as a Sith._

"I _am _Sith!" Vader barked.

_But you were not raised one. Not like Maul. Maul was raised Sith and despite my best efforts, I couldn't redeem him. But you,_ he said, pointing a finger at his former friend,_ you were raised a Jedi._

"I am no longer a Jedi. Your order is extinct. I destroyed it myself."

_You're wrong. The Jedi all but extinct, but they still live. Obi-Wan survived until recently. Yoda is out there. Caleb Dume, or as you know him, Kanan Jarrus, escaped. I can only presume Shaak Tii escaped the Jedi Temple, because of me...And you live._

"I told I'm not a Jedi anymore!" Vader snarled.

_Calm down, Kie._

"That name no longer has any meaning for me," Vader denounced, shaking his lightsaber at the ghost.

Anakin smiled again. Vader was astounded. Vader was basically insulting this spirit and yet it felt amused. How _dare_ he? Vader was the Dark Lord of the Sith and yet this spirit was laughing at him, unafraid. Well, he was a ghost and Vader couldn't harm him. He didn't have the gauntlets Exar Kun used to annihilate the spirit of Freedon Nadd on Yavin IV. Despite his best efforts to locate them, Vader deduced they had been destroyed when Kun sacrificed his Massassi armies to keep his spirit alive.

_Do you believe you can destroy the Emperor?_

"...Yes."

_I can tell you what I believe. I believe you will take my place as the Chosen One and bring balance to the Force._

"Obi-Wan once thought as you do. You don't know the power of the dark side."

_But I know the rage that drives you. That impossible anger strangling the grief over what you've done, until the memory of your loved ones is just poison in your veins. And one day you catch yourself wishing the people you loved had never existed, so you'd be spared your pain._

"They betrayed me!"

_We must forget the past. You have learned to bury your guilt with anger. Eventually, that rage will destroy you. If you'll let me, I will teach you to confront it and to face the truth. Your anger gives you great power, but if you let it, it will destroy you, as it almost did me on Tatooine. Whatever your original intentions, you have become truly lost._

"It is too late for me, my old friend...Who is the boy?"

_My son. The Force is unusually strong in him, that much is certain. I visit him sometimes in his dreams. At times, he's like his mother. A strong willed boy._

"He is just a boy. You and Obi-Wan can no longer help him."

_What about Yoda? Master Yoda can teach him. My son is headstrong and has much to learn of the Living Force...but he is capable. Just like you._

"You underestimate my power in the Dark Side of the Force, Anakin," Vader declared. Obviously, he wouldn't convince Anakin. If he couldn't convince him during Operation Knightfall, he couldn't convince him in the afterlife.

_Look deeper._

"Me and your son will destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is our destiny. Obi-Wan knew this to be true."

_You told me the same thing on Coruscant._

"But this time..." Vader breathed. "...it is true. I was wrong about you on Coruscant."

Anakin looked at him with pity, only to further anger Vader. How dare he pity him? He was the Dark Lord of the Sith! Then Anakin radiated calm.

_Could you do me one last favor, my old friend? I am owed that, since I saved your life more times than I can count._

Heading for the door, Vader turned his anger to hate. This Jedi was really starting to piss him off. Maybe if his hate and power grew great enough, he could destroy this spirit, ending this insult. But...Vader guessed he could grant this one last wish for his former best friend. "What do you want?"

_Not far from where you are, there is a planet called Dagobah. On the planet, there is a cave which is strong with the dark side of the Force. You must go there._

Vader turned to face the ghost. "What is there?"

_Only what you take with you._

Vader titled his head a bit. Where had he heard that before? It sounded familiar.

_Your final test is at hand. Trust in the Force. You may find what you're looking for in that place. Please, will do this for me? One last request from me?_

Vader turned, then looked back at Anakin. "Yes, old friend."

Anakin nodded, then disappeared. Vader was a Sith, but he would honor his agreement. He activated his comlink with two timed blinks of his eyes inside his helmet.

"Captain Piett," he commed.

_"Yes, my lord. What is your command?"_

"Set your course for the Dagobah system."

_"Dagobah? My lord, that is a remote planet. The rebels wouldn't set up base there. What could we possi-"_

"I said set the course for the Dagobah system. You have your orders. Your predecessor once questioned my orders. Surely, you're not foolish enough to make the same mistake?"

Piett took a moment to gather himself before responding. _"No, my lord. I will do as you command. But it will take some time to reposition our fleet to get there."_

"Then I suggest you get busy, Captain. You are dismissed."

_"Yes, lord Vader,"_ Piett said as he signed off.

Vader contemplated himself. What could make Anakin want to send Vader to Dagobah? What was there? A trap? A ancient power? An amulet or a Force-imbued weapon to destroy the Emperor?

Vader would have to go and see for himself.

**Review.**


	9. The Cave

DAGOBAH SYSTEM  
ORBIT

The pointed wedge of the _Executor-_class Star Dreadnought braked out of the swirling blue vortex of hyperspace, surrounded by four _Imperial I-_class Star Destroyers.

On board the _Executor_, Darth Vader was standing on the end of the metal walkway that ran between the two crew pits of the Super Star Destroyer's bridge, watching as TIE fighters started their patrols and scouting. His black cape hung to the door, dead silent and without movement. His lightsaber hung at his belt, shrouded in the shadow caused by the cape. Besides the quiet beeping of machines and Vader's respirator, the bridge was silent.

Admiral Kendel Ozzel and Captain Firmus Piett marched towards their Supreme Command. Though he didn't move to acknowledge them, they both clacked their boots to stand at attention.

"Lord Vader," Ozzel reported. "We've just jumped out of light speed and have arrived in the Dagobah system as per your orders. My lord...forgive me, but may I ask what we are doing here."

Vader heard him but did not answer. For a moment, Vader just stared at the planet, before finally speaking.

"I will go alone. I am here on a mission of my own. If I am not back in twelve hours, you will send the 501st to sweep the planet. Is that understood?"

"Understood, my Lord. Captain Piett, prepare Lord Vader's ship."

"Yes, sir," Piett said, clicking his boots again before marching away.

DAGOBAH SURFACE

Jedi Grand Master Yoda was settling down for supper when an old friend contacted him.

_Master Yoda, _Anakin called, _Do not go near the cave anytime soon._

"Hmm?" he asked, taking a sip of the stew. "Ah, still too hot, it is. Why stay away from the cave, should I?"

_Vader is on his way planet ward. I have sent him._

"Hmm?" Yoda started. What was this boy thinking? "Trying to get me killed, are you? Why send him here, would you?"

_Master, I sent Vader here to test him...Master Yoda. There is good him. I know it. If he is to take the path of redemption, he will discover it here._

_You don't know that,_ another voice projected.

"Yes, yes," Yoda agreed with the latter. "To Obi-Wan, you listen. Twisted by the dark side, Vader has become."

_Masters, Ulic Qel-Droma has twisted by the dark side, becoming a Sith with Exar Kun. Yet he achieved redemption. Vader will destroy Palpatine. You must see it. I have seen that the dark side has began to lose its grip on him._

"Clouded so much of our vision, the dark side has."

_Well, master,_ Anakin said, _either way, we're running out of time._

_For once, I agreed with Anakin. With Vader's power, this is very dangerous place for you to be, Master Yoda._

"To a dark place, this line of thought will carry us. Impossible to see, the future is."

_Master..._ Anakin pleaded. _Please, trust me._

Yoda pursed his green lips, then sighed. "Very well. Stay inside, I will."

_Of course, you must do what you feel is right, Anakin. However, if Vader is to do this, he will do this alone. I cannot interfere._

_I understand Masters. Thank you._

ELSEWHERE

The Advanced TIE fighter sailed through the twilight hal separating pitch black space from the planet's surface. Vader plunged this craft into the white blanket of mists.

He couldn't see a thing. His vision was entirely obstructed by the dense whiteness pressing against the canopy window of his ship. His only choice was to control his fighter by his instruments and his senses in the Force. But the scopes weren't registering anything, even as Vader flew nearer to the surface. His senses didn't register any intelligent or sentient life form or even any cities.

Through the Force, Vader managed to find a place to land, a little sand bur in the middle of a swamp. He flipped a switch that opened his ship's canopy. When he raised himself outside the ship, he took in his surroundings.

The place was completely surrounded by mists, its bright landing lights not illuminating more than a few feet in front of it. Vader could barely see the twisted trunks and roots of grotesque-looking trees. Vader used Force Flight to glide to the other side. Once his boots were on firm ground, Vader titled his helmeted head back, seeing the branches, high above, that seemed to form a canopy with the low-hanging clouds.

Vader fumed. What would possibly motivate Anakin to send him here? This place was a shavit hole.

Vader turned to see a creature in the water. The creature eyed him before sinking back beneath the surface. It had realized that he wouldn't taste good and his armor was bad for digestion. There seemed to be nothing but the murky bog. Along with the creatures, as yet unseen, that might lurk in the falling darkness. Dusk was upon him. Soon it would so dark Vader would have to rely on the night vision in his helmet to see.

_My old friend. You have arrived at last. You have done as I asked?_

"Yes," Vader replied. "I have."

_The cave. You must go in...Alone._

"What is in there?" Vader asked.

_As I said, only what you take with you._

Vader swung his helmet to what he sensed, something dangerous and evil. He felt danger...and death. He saw a huge tangled tree, its blackened bark dry and crumbling. The base of the tree was surrounded by a small pond of water, where the gigantic roots had grown to form the opening to a darkly sinister cave.

Vader stepped through the shallow waters of the pond, the water splashing against his boots. He moved toward the dark opening between the roots and the great unknown.

_Your lightsaber,_ Anakin called. _You won't need it._

Vader looked back at the spirit of his old friend, which had disappeared. How could he go into an unknown evil cave completely unarmed? Vader gripped his lightsaber tightly.

_Remember what Obi-Wan taught you. If without a lightsaber, you still have the Force._

Probing his surroundings through the Force, Vader cautiously stepped into the grotesque tree cave. The dark inside the cave was so thick that Vader could feel it scrapping against his armor, so black that the light thrown by his eye lens was quickly absorbed and illuminated scarcely more than a meter in front of him. As he slowly moved forward, slimy, dripping things brushed against his mask and the moisture would've fogged his lens if his helmet hadn't been prepared for it during its construction.

As he pushed through the blackness, his lens began to grow accustomed to the dark. He saw a corridor before him, but as he moved toward it, he was surprised by a thick, sticky membrane that tried to completely envelope him. Like the web of some gigantic spider, the mass moved to cling tightly to Vader's body. Igniting his lightsaber, Vader made one simple slash and the creature was cut in half, whining and groaning before dying.

Vader held his red glowing sword in front of him, he moved forward. He felt the space about him widen as he moved forward, using his lightsaber as a dim beacon. He strained to see in the darkness, trying his best to hear. But there was no sound at all. Nothing.

Then, a very loud _hiss._

The sound was all too familiar. He lived and heard that sound every day. Out of the darkness a light appeared, a second red lightsaber. Vader saw the looming figure of himself come out from a corridor, lightsaber raised. But the confusing figure didn't attack the real Vader.

A blond boy with a blue lightsaber attacked the figure. The boy gave into rage and severed the illusionary figure's hand. The real Vader reached a hand but his Force probes revealed nothing.

The illusionary Vader issued a painful groan before falling on his back, with his left hand raised, begging the boy to hold his attack.

The Emperor emitted a sinister cackle as he approached down the stairs, cupping his hands together. "Good!"

The boy, still shaking, looked back at the smiling Dark Lord.

"You're hate has made you powerful!" Sidious purred. "Now, fulfill your destiny. And take Lord Vader's place at my side! Must I remind you that he killed your father?"

Vader was shocked and enraged. How dare he? He was his apprentice. Vader was supposed to destroy him! That was the way of the Rule of Two set by Darth Bane. The master taught his apprentice in the ways of the Sith, then the latter would slay the former when he was ready and take on his own apprentice to complete the cycle. But Vader realized he should have seen this coming. He was broken after his disfigurement on Mustafar by Kenobi. Darth Sidious wanted a younger, more powerful apprentice. Sidious attempted to take Anakin Skywalker as his apprentice after he killed Dooku but Anakin refused to embrace the dark side, at least not again after the massacre on Tatooine.

Vader screamed in a fit of rage, ending the vision. Realizing he lost his way to see how the boy would react, he deduced that he accepted the Emperor's offer. While they fought, he saw the rage and hate in the boy.

Vader slowly made his way out the cave. Anakin was not there in ghostly form. But he was there.

_What you saw in there, you must follow it._

Vader mentally nodded. To the ends of the galaxy if he had to. He would not fall victim to Sidious' ploy to replace him. He would destroy him. Darth Vader would become the Emperor.

_You were lost. But we believed in you. We showed you a path. You were Obi-Wan's greatest student. You chose a different path._

Vader recalled that mask being lowered onto his head.

_Do you still feel responsible for the things you've done?_

Vader hesitated, the memory of stabbing Anakin, killing the younglings. Seeing Amidala's body at her funeral.

"Yes."

_What you really fear is inside yourself. I know your heart better than you know it yourself. You fear your own power. Fear your anger. The drive to do great or terrible things. Now you must journey inwards._

"How?"

_Embrace your worst fear. What do you fear?_

Vader feared being forever a slave. He feared being dominated forever. To die a worthless servant. Afraid of failing.

_Feel your terror cloud your senses._

Vader recalled kneeling before the graves of many Jedi during the Clone War. He wasn't strong enough to save them, but he made a promise to never fail them again. Yet in the end he endured the worst failure. Betrayal.

_Feel its power to distort._

The power of the dark side had distorted his vision. It deluded him into thinking he was the most powerful being in the galaxy, even when he had all his limbs intact. Sidious had promised to end the senseless violence of the Clone War, only to take the Separatists' place as galactic aggressors.

_Give power to that which you fear...and it will show itself to you._

He heard the Emperor's voice. _You will be destroyed._

_Pull yourself together, _Anakin said. _Or you can wallow in pity and anger. And die. Kie, you must face your demons and save the galaxy. I know there is still good in you. The Emperor hasn't eliminated it from you fully. There is no turning back._

Vader looked down then back at his ship.

_I'll see you again soon._

**Review.**


	10. Three Days

**Yes, I'm a fan of _Supernatural _and _Pirates of the Caribbean_. Changed Vader's former first name to Kie.**

**A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...a war raged between oppressed and oppressor. Between Rebel Alliance and Galactic Empire. Between the guardians of peace and justice and the servants of the Darkness. A proud and noble tradition was passed into the charge of a new generation. Steadfast alliances were formed in the crucible of war. In the dark heart of the universe. Tiny islands of courage in a vast ocean of fear. Like points of sparkling incandescence piercing a suffocating black shroud. Destinies fulfilled. Destinies unfolding. Events inexorably drawn to a linchpin in time. To a temporal fulcrum of which a specific future rises. A future birthed in one white-hot blinding moment. A future made, event by event, link by link, a living chain of action, reaction...and change. Alter one event, and a new future comes to be. Splinter a link, and a new chain is forged.**

In a private place at the hidden Rebel base Luke was fiddling with his lightsaber. Suddenly, Luke felt what Ben called 'a disturbance in the Force'. Something was here, with Luke. He looked around.

_Can you feel it?_

"Father?" Luke gasped. He looked around, hoping to see his father's figure, as least his specter. But he saw no one. Luke was alone, at least physically. His father's spirit was here, with him.

_Yes. It is I. Can you not _feel_ it? Not like some cold blaster, but a _living thing_. An extension of the _spirit_. A servant of the _will.

"I feel it, father," Luke said, resuming his bout with the remote.

_That's it, son. Your mind is calm. The Force is now your ally. It takes a long time to learn patience. To quiet the anger in your spirit. It took me a while. You're doing well, son. I'll see you soon._

"Wait!" Luke called. "Father! Don't leave me."

_Don't worry, my son. I will always be with you._

Luke let out a deep sigh, deciding to concentrate on his Force sense. Sitting cross legged, he closed his eyes and immersed himself deep within the Force.

Luke Skywalker had a similar build as his father's; just as acrobatic and with just as much strength, if not more. He kept himself in good shape but more training with an living Jedi Master would set him up for success. A book Kenobi had left him helped Luke learn to augment his physical attributes with the Force. This would include his heightened endurance, his quick reflexes and his mounting strength. Luke couldn't stop the punch of bodyguard droid like his father did once during a Skirmish in Theed back in the Clone War, but Luke gained a six pack and had plenty of strength.

Luke's reflex were such that he could navigate Beggar's Canyon, observe starfighters at sublight speeds and move his blade around in the span of a thought. He could disarm some of the fastest shots in the galaxy or cut the blasters of stormtroopers in half before they could get a shot off. His balance and agility were also quite impressive, able to cross a tightrope at a full sprint.

Luke did not lack for strength. He contended and won against a champion of a native species and bested a staff-wielding opponent. Skywalker had just as much strength as he did dexterity, turning himself into a strong fighter with quick witted reflexes and snappy comebacks.

Though he still had much to learn, Luke was a capable Force user. He had the potential to be more powerful than Vader. However, Luke was overconfident. He felt he was ready to face Vader. Luke wanted to avenge both his father's murder and Ben's slaying also. Ben had warned him to not to give into anger but Luke felt Vader had to be stopped. The Emperor...well, he'd come to that when he got there.

Although Luke Skywalker had not yet showcased the same power as his father, he did have a bit more control over the Force. Unlike Anakin, whose true training happened during the arduous Clone War, Luke's training was conducted in peace and tranquility. This combative ability with the Force might not have matched his father's, but Luke's perception outstripped Anakin's.

Luke far sight was fierce, able to sense when his friends were endanger. His Force sense allowed him to destroy the Death Star and deflect a series of blaster bolts with no formal training. Luke tried to control his rage, but he trusted in the Force. Luke showed a talent for beast control and empathy. But he wasn't a perfect saint, his rush to fight Vader on Cymoon. An initiate with little training going against a battle hardened warrior with 40 years of experience was the same as send a lamb to be slaughtered. The will of the Force was the only reason Luke was still alive.

Luke didn't have too many combative showings with his use of the Force, whether by way of his skill or power. He did however hold competency with deflection.

Using his father's lightsaber, Luke was a natural fighter. Luke was intuitive and adaptable in his own sword play. Not only did Luke have mounting strength, but his decision making was quick witted, moving in the span of a thought. He was almost an exclusive user of the fifth form of lightsaber combat, Djem So/Shien. Shien deflected blaster fire back at the shooter while Djem So was lightsaber duel based, defending and counter attacking with powerful blows.

He was a highly instinctive fighter, learning from direct combat. Luke's open and calm mind allowed for a more adaptable fighting style. Luke could also use the tight and defensive blade work of Form III: Soresu. He was skilled in back and forth fencing; parry and attack. But Sith like Darth Vader favored his offense while Luke Skywalker favored his defense. Vader fought with his aggressive attacks, able to plow through his opponent's offenses, while Luke fought with his versatility, able to adapt and mirror Vader's style.

Luke Skywalker was still determined to kill Vader, but he still needed someone to teach him the ways of the Force.

"Guide my lightsaber, father," Luke prayed.

CORUSCANT

Coruscant, a planet wide metropolis, once the crown jewel of freedom and democracy for over a thousand years after the exile of Darth Bane, but now the military nerve center of the Galactic Empire. A now near invincible Empire, its last opposition, the Rebel Alliance, or the Alliance to Restore the Republic, lurks in the shadows and dark corners of the galaxy, planning and preparing to strike. Orbiting above Coruscant, the immense bulk of the Imperial Fleet hovers over the city-like planet.

"Shuttle _Tarquinas_, your code transmissions is confirmed and you are cleared for landing."

Though the Rebel Alliance had not been vanquished, the ISB agent was hoping the Emperor's mood would be one of magnanimity. He couldn't imagine a more sickening display of hypocrisy. Though what the Empire did to Coruscant came close.

_Such a vulgar display of oppression and corruption suits the Emperor well_, the Rebel Alliance informant thought to himself. The Emperor would certainly be interested into hearing his views, but no good would come of it. The old Clone War veteran had fed information to the Rebel Alliance after Ahsoka Tano and Bail Organa formed the rebellion three years ago. It was Imperial Security Bureau Special Agent Sean Devlin that fed the Rebel Alliance the information that led to the acquirement of the plans to Death Star.

"Welcome back to Coruscant, Lord Vader," Devlin said.

Vader did not reply as he stood in the cockpit, his breathing system filling the otherwise silent cabin. When the ship finally landed, Devlin and a squad of 12 stormtroopers accompanied Darth Vader to the Imperial Palace, which used to be the Jedi Temple until Operation: Knightfall.

Palpatine was in his office in the Palace, conversing with his advisers, Sim Aloo and Janus Greejatus. Emperor Palpatine, known to few as Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith, turned to face his apprentice.

"Ah, Lord Vader. I'm glad you arrived," the Emperor said, before turning to his advisers. "Leave us."

Aloo and Greejatus bowed their heads and left, as did Devlin and his stormtroopers. Devlin looked back at the two Dark Lords as he left. If he didn't know that they were Force users, he would've muttered some curse at them under his breath. Although his infiltration of the Imperial Security Bureau had been slow in progress, he managed to slice into information that confirmed that Vader and Palpatine were Sith Lords. So Devlin held his tongue.

"I sense a disturbance within you, apprentice," Sidious observed after the doors closed. "Have the fruits of victory softened your resolve."

"No, my master. It is a disturbance in_ the Force_ I sense, but the source is…"

"Yes, Lord Vader?"

"I believe that Anakin Skywalker had a son. And that he is in league with the rebels."

"Skywalker?" the Emperor repeated, rising from his chair. "Are you certain?"

"There is no other explanation," Vader said.

"Strange that I have not sensed this. I was under the impression that the Jedi were not allowed to have families. I wonder if your feelings on this matter are clear."

"They are clear, master."

"Excellent then," Darth Sidious replied, smiling. "Find this boy and eliminate him. Confirm his identity if you can. The greatest triumph is yet to come. A triumph as inevitable as destiny."

Vader bowed his head. "Yes, my master."

LATER...

Darth Vader sat in his hyperbaric medical chamber on Coruscant, his helmet several feet above his head. The interior lighting was turned off, and he was free of the helmet that he had to wear to sustain himself for life. The Force was powerful; Vader thought the dark side even more so, but he had never been able to use it to heal his badly burned body to the extent that he wished. That he was alive at all was something of a miracle, but he had somehow failed to master the energies needed for complete regeneration. He believed that it was possible; that with sufficient meditation and training, he would someday be able to rebuild himself into the man he once had been.

Physically, at least.

He would never go back to what he had been mentally. Weak, foolish, idealistic. Kie had been much like the Skywalker boy was now. Mere...potential.

Yes, the Force was strong in the boy, perhaps even stronger than it had been in Kie. But the boy needed to embrace the dark side, to learn where the real power was, to achieve his true promise. If he did not, the Emperor would destroy him.

Vader did not want that.


	11. Go to Dagobah

**According to Wookieepedia canon, there was an Old Republic, then the Galactic Republic, then the Empire. When the Empire rose, the Imperials used the term "Old Republic" to address the two as the same (since the whole switch to Disney didn't happen until recently)**

HOTH  
3 ABY

Luke could have been a corpse, food for the scavengers, by the time the light of dawn returned. He'd be an icicle for the monsters thaw out before eating. But somehow he was still alive, though barely, and struggling to stay that way even with the night storms violently assaulting him. Luke painfully pulled himself upright from the snow, only to be blasted back down by the freezing wind.

It took all of Luke's remaining strength to drag himself a half yard before finally collapsing, sinking into the ever-deepening drifts. Barely conscious, Luke heard a familiar voice calling his name. _Luke_, the calm voice said, echoing in his mind. He recognized that voice. With a great effort, Luke lifted his head and saw what he thought was a hallucination. In front of him, apparently unaffected by the cold and still clad in the shabby robes and Jedi tunic he had worn to his death, stood Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi. Luke wanted to call out, but he was almost speechless. The apparition of the Jedi Master spoke with the same gentle authority Ben had always used with the young man. Gentle but strong. Next to him was a younger figure, who said nothing.

"Luke…"

"Ben?" Luke gasped, finding the strength to move his lips. He had a feeling who the younger person was. "Father?"

"You will go to the Dagobah system," the spectral figure of Ben Kenobi commanded.

"Dagobah system?" Luke stuttered. Why in the universe would he go there?

"There you will learn from Yoda...the Jedi Master who instructed me."

Luke was confused. Yet before he could gather the strength for an explanation, the figures began to fade. And when every trace of the apparition had passed from his sight, Luke thought he saw the approach of a Tauntaun with a human rider on its back. The man was a familiar face but Luke was so out of it he couldn't identify him.

"BEN!" Luke called out, reaching out his hand.

"LUKE!" Han Solo yelled, reining in his mount. He dismounted and looked with horror at the snow-covered, almost frozen form of his friend lying half-head at his feet. "Luke!" Han turned Luke over, begging to see life.

"Don't do this, Luke," he appealed to Luke's inert figure, immediately forgetting his own nearly frozen body, "Come on. Gimme a sign here."

Han could detect no life sign, and noticed Luke's face, nearly covered with snow, was savagely torn. He rubbed at the youth's face, careful not to touch the drying wounds. Finally Luke issued a slight response. A low moan, barely audible over the winds, was strong enough to send a warm glow though Han's own shivering body. "I knew you wouldn't leave us! Let's get the hell out of here!"

Han grabbed Luke from under his armpits and began dragging him to the Tauntaun. But before he could drape the unconscious warrior over the animal's back, it gave an agonized roar, then fell into a shaggy gray heap on the snow. It issued one final sickly rasp before succumbing to silence.

"We haven't got much time," Han swore, then he heard the kid talking. Not to him. Delirious talk.

"Ben...Ben…"

"Hang on, kid!" Han begged. Resting Luke's motionless form against the belly of the dead Tauntaun, Han grabbed Luke's lightsaber and ignited the blue blade. At first the weapon felt strange in his hands, but momentarily he was cutting the animal's carcass from hairy head to sacly hind paws. Han winced at the foul odor that rose from the incision. He yanked and tossed the slippery entrails into the snow until the body was fully eviscerated. Then, without hesitation, Han shoved his friend inside the warm, gut-empty hair-covered carcass.

"This may smell bad, kid…But it'll keep you warm until I get the shelter up."

From the body, another blast of entrail-stench rose out of the disemboweled cavity. "Whew!" Han almost gagged. "I thought they smelled bad on the outside."

There wasn't much time left to do what had to be done. Han's freezing hands went to the supply pack strapped to the Tauntaun's back and rummaged through the Rebel-issue items until he located the shelter container. The sky had darkened ominously and the winds blew violently, making even breathing close to impossible. Han fought to open the shelter container and stiffly began to construct the one piece of Rebel equipment that might protect them both, if even only for short while longer.

* * *

In Vader's metitation chamber, where he could breath without his helmet on, he pondered about the Rebel's motivation. The Rebel Alliance officially called themselves the Alliance to Restore the Republic. But why? The Republic was weak and doomed to failure. The Old Republic had failed to destroy the Sith a thousand years ago and it's successor, the Galactic Republic, failed to restore and maintain peace and unity. So why fight for failure?

The Republic had died for two of many reasons. One, the Republic sought the input of all its citizens no matter how petty or imbecilic their concerns. Two, the Republic pathetically valued the superficial appearance of peace; it maintained no armies of its own until the Separatist threat forced the Republic to create a clone army and the Jedi become generals. The Republic didn't project power internally or externally. The Republic held no true power at all. That was weakness.

Democracy was a prop for the damn lazy. It allowed citizens to diffuse personal responsibility throughout the greater whole, ensuring no one would be held accountable for their personal failings. Debates and committees crippled governance and ground progress to a halt. Corruption and political self-interests in the Senate rendered the Republic impotent. During the Great Galactic War with the Sith Empire those three thousand years ago, instead of uniting for one cause against the Sith, the systems looked out only for themselves. Because the Republic didn't have the strength to enforce and embody unity during that war, it was every system for itself. That's why the following Cold War featured a technical struggle between darkness and light. No balance.

Darth Vader and the Emperor realized that all beings were not equal and that decisions determined by a numerical majority didn't make them valid.

The Republic's pacifism was a shield for the weak. War was the natural way of life. And given the Empire's thirst for conquest, it made them undeniably dangerous, just like the Mandalorians before them. However, the Empire had to admit that the Republic's commitment to self-improvement was not unlike the Empire's. And Vader knew their was something respectable about the Republic's rugged sense of honor, which was the same as the Rebels. But the Rebels were not the Empire's friends. They inspired chaos and disorder.

Darth Vader would teach this to the Skywalker boy when he captured Skywalker.

**Review.**


	12. This House is not a Home

**Damn it! Neighbor's dog crapped in my yard!**

DAGOBAH

Luke set course for the Dagobah system after the Alliance evacuated Hoth.

He met a small green gremlin. His face was deeply lined, but as framed with elfin, pointed ears and gave it a look of eternal youth. Short white hair was parted down the middle and hung down on either side of the green-skinned head. He was bipedal and stood on short legs that terminated in tridactyl, almost reptilian feet. It wore rags as gray as the mists of Dagobah's swamps, and in such tatters that they must have been the creature's very age. The gremlin carried a wooden stick. He was probably no taller than four feet.

The silly gremlin, after rummaging through Luke's makeshift camp and tasting and spitting out Luke's MREs, agreed to take Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 to Jedi Master Yoda on the condition that they ate first. On the way to the gremlin's hut, Luke wondered about such a silly creature could know the Grand Master of the Jedi Knights.

Luke squeezed into the gremlin's miniature house. He sat cross-legged in the living room, careful not to bang his head against the ceiling. The gremlin was in the kitchen, making a meal. He giggled from time to time. He chopped something, shredded another thing, putting it all in the steaming pot. Luke was losing patience.

"Look, I'm sure it's delicious," Luke said, trying to be polite. "But I don't see why we can't see Yoda now."

"Patience," the gremlin insisted. "For a Jedi it is time to eat, as well."

"How far away is Yoda?" Luke asked. "Will it take long to get there?"

"Not far," the gremlin answered. "Yoda not far. I wonder, why wish you become Jedi?"

"Mostly because of my father, I guess," Luke answered. He admit to admit though that he never really knew his father that well. In truth, his deepest kinship with his father was through the lightsaber Ben had entrusted to him, and the stories he heard about the 'Hero With No Fear', Clone War hero Anakin Skywalker. Luke noticed that the euphoria in the gremlin's eyes.

"Ah! Father!" the being said, sitting down to begin his meal. "Powerful Jedi was he. Yes, powerful Jedi."

Luke's face cringed. "Oh, come on! How could you know my father? You don't even know who I am." He tossed aside his food. "I don't what I'm doing here. We're wasting our time!"

That's when he heard the creature sigh. "No good is this," the gremlin said irritably. "I cannot teach him. The boy has no patience."

From nowhere in particular, Luke heard the gentle wise voice of Ben Kenobi. _"He will learn patience."_

"Hmmm. Much anger in him," the creature persisted, turning to face the boy. "Like his father."

_"Was I any different when you taught me?"_

The creature grunted. "He is not ready."

Alarm bells rang in Luke's mind. _Cannot teach. No patience. Much anger._ How much he knew about Luke's father. And Ben's voice. Then the truth of the situation gradually became as plain to him as the deep lines on the little creature's face. Already he was being tested...by none other than the Grand Master of the Jedi Order himself.

"Yoda," Luke gasped. Yoda lightly nodded. Luke couldn't wait any longer. "I am ready. Ben! I-I can be a Jedi," he insisted. "Ben tell him I'm rea-" he tried to say, banging his head on the low ceiling.

"Ready are you?" Yoda skeptically said. "What knows you ready? For 800 years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained, young man. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment. The most serious mind."

_"He is ready,"_ Ben's voice defended.

"This one, a long time have I watched. All his life, as he looked away . . . to the future. To the horizon. To the skies. Never his mind on _where he was_." Yoda poked Luke with his stick with those last four words, making the youth look back at the Jedi. "Hmm? _What he was_ _doing!_"Again, Yoda poked Luke. "Hmm, Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh! A Jedi craves not these things. You are _reckless_!"

_"So was I, if you remember."_

"He is too old," Yoda insisted, severely disappointing Luke. "Yes, too old to begin the training."

"But I've learned so much," Luke also insisted. He couldn't give up, after all that he had been through. He had come too far, endured too much, _lost _too much to give up.

Yoda sighed and looked to the ceiling. "Will he finish what he begins?"

_"We've come this far. He is our only hope."_

"I won't fail you!" Luke promised, getting Yoda's attention. "I'm not afraid."

"You will be afraid, young one," Yoda warned. "You will be."

**Review.**


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